TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsMuted NYE celebrations reflect solidarity with Sumatra disaster victims
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
People attend the New Year's Eve celebrations in Jakarta, December 31, 2025. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
I
ndonesians ushered in the New Year with subdued celebrations, as scaled-down festivities across the country served as a gesture of solidarity with millions affected by deadly disasters in northern Sumatra.
Natanael, a student of Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, marked New Year’s Eve quietly. Aware that crowds would still gather in parts of the city at midnight, he chose instead to remain at his boarding house.
“I just spent time with my friends, shared stories and meals together. It was a simple but still meaningful celebration for me,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Natanael said he was mindful of the Semarang administration’s appeal discouraging fireworks displays, issued in solidarity with people affected by massive floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
He therefore decided not to set off fireworks. “By avoiding extravagant celebrations, I feel I am expressing empathy during this period of mourning,” he added.
Read also: Prabowo spends New Year’s Eve with Sumatra disaster survivors
Welcoming the decision to tone down festivities, Natanael also urged the government to accelerate disaster response efforts, which have stretched on for more than a month since a rare tropical cyclone struck the northern part of Sumatra on Nov. 26. The disaster has killed at least 1,157 people and displaced more than 380,000 as of Thursday.
