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View all search resultsPalace projects unity on Idul Fitri over global fragmentation
Leaders from across the political spectrum offered a show of unity over the weekend as they gathered for an Idul Fitri tradition of renewing ties that experts say carries particular weight this year as domestic pressures mount alongside an increasingly volatile global landscape.
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President Prabowo Subianto (right, rear), accompanied by his son Ragowo “Didit” Hediprasetyo (left, seated), speaks with former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (center) on Saturday, during a private meeting on the sidelines of the Idul Fitri open house at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta. (Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev)
L
eaders from across the political spectrum gathered in a show of unity over the Idul Fitri weekend, in a longstanding tradition that involves a renewing of ties that analysts say carries particular weight this year amid domestic and global pressures.
Accompanied by his son Ragowo “Didit” Hediprasetyo, President Prabowo Subianto hosted former presidents and greeted thousands of ordinary citizens at the presidential compound in Central Jakarta on Saturday after flying in from Aceh, where he had earlier attended prayers alongside residents still recovering from last year’s deadly floods.
Among Prabowo’s high-profile guests was former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who arrived at the palace compound with his two sons, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, respectively the coordinating infrastructure and regional development minister and the deputy speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Also joining the festivities were former first couple Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his wife Iriana, who were seen speaking with Prabowo and Didiet in a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the open house, according to photos released by the State Secretariat.
In the corresponding press release, the State Secretariat described Jokowi’s attendance at the gathering as “reflecting a continuity in the national leadership that remains close” between Prabowo and his predecessors.
Read also: Prabowo, other leaders showcase unity at annual Idul Fitri event
Notably absent from the gathering was chairwoman of the quasi-opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri, who held her own Idul Fitri gathering in Menteng, Central Jakarta, with a slew of foreign ambassadors including those from Palestine, Russia, Iran and the United Kingdom.
