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Public given greater opportunity to attend Independence Day ceremony
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Happy Independence Day -- President Joko Widodo hands over the red-and-white flag to a flag-hoisting team (Paskibraka) member during the 71st Independence Day ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has fulfilled his promise to give the general public a greater opportunity to attend the commemoration of the 71st Independence Day at the State Palace.
Around 2,210 people of various backgrounds and professions were invited to participate in the Independence Day celebration, 1,210 of which attended the flag-raising ceremony on Wednesday morning.
The invitees came from regions across the country, such as Bali, Bandung and Karawang in West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Greater Jakarta, Medan in North Sumatra, Serang and Papua. Most of the participants from Bandung were regular people such as farmers, janitors, teachers, artists and craftsmen.
Presidential Secretariat head Djumala Darmansyah said earlier that invitees of the Independence Day celebration at the State Palace would be dominated by members of the general public, instead of officials.
"Seventy percent of the invitees are members of the general public while the remaining 30 percent are officials. People have been invited to attend the celebration so they can feel the atmosphere of celebrating independence," he explained.
This year’s celebration had a more festive atmosphere, in which Indonesia's first red-and-white flag sewn by the late former first lady Fatmawati was carried by traditional horse-drawn carriage, the Ki Jaga Raksa, from the National Monument (Monas) to the palace prior to the ceremony. It was reportedly President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's idea. (ebf)
