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Nusantara hosts first-ever Independence Day celebration
Saturday's ceremony was the first time for the annual national Independence Day ceremony to be held in two places simultaneously.
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Indonesian Military (TNI) stand at the ready during the 79th Independence Day ceremony at the ceremonial field in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 17, 2024, the first time the future capital city has held the national Independence Day commemoration event. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo celebrated Indonesia’s 79th Independence Day with a ceremony in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, on Saturday, the first such celebration in the nation’s future capital, with a simultaneous event also held in Jakarta.
The national flag-hoisting ceremony was led by President Jokowi, who was accompanied by First Lady Iriana and Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto. It was then broadcast to the State Palace in Jakarta, where Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and vice president-elect and Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka were in attendance.
Jokowi and Iriana donned the kustim costume of the Kutai indigenous community that mostly resides in East Kalimantan. The President and his wife wore black velvet coats with golden ornamentation, and long black and brown batik cloths wrapped around their waists.
The President handed over the national flag to the flag-hoisting squad (Paskibraka). House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani, who wore a red kebaya (traditional lace blouse), read the Proclamation of Independence text, while Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas led the prayers.
Among the guests attending the ceremony in the future capital were People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir.
Other ministers seen in Nusantara were Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Home Minister Tito Karnavian.
