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.
'Ibu' Ani, my soulmate: SBY sings for late wife, reactivates her IG to preserve legacy
“I wish to reminisce and to express my infinite love to Ibu Ani, my soulmate who is now resting eternally in peace,” wrote SBY in the Instagram post.
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!
Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accompanies his wife Ani Yudhoyono as the latter undergoes intensive medical treatment for blood cancer in a hospital in Singapore on Feb. 12. (Courtesy of Anung Anindito/Handout)
F
ormer president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has released a video of him singing a nostalgic song as a tribute to his late wife and former first lady Kristiani Herawati, better known as Ani Yudhoyono, who passed away in June.
The song was also released for the public through Ani’s Instagram handle, @aniyudhoyono, on Sunday, as Yudhoyono and his family announced they would reactivate the former first lady’s account on the social media platform under the name “Ani Yudhoyono in Memoriam” to preserve her “values, thinking and legacy”.
“Through this song [sic] “Seruling dari Lembah Sunyi” [Flute from the Silent Valley], I wish to reminisce and to express my infinite love to Ibu Ani, my soulmate who is now resting eternally in peace,” wrote SBY in the Instagram post.
Yudhoyono's version of the song ─ written by V. Nanda Leimana and arranged by guitarist Tohpati ─ was officially released at an event to commemorate six months since Ani’s death on Sunday.
A music video of the song featured Yudhoyono singing the song next to a photo of his late wife as well as landscape photos depicting sunset that he said had been taken by Ani.
Yudhoyono’s personal assistant, Ossy Dermawan, has confirmed the reactivation of Ani’s Instagram account, saying that the former first family and its staff wanted to preserve and keep Ani’s memories and legacy alive.
The account ─ which was regularly used by Ani to post updates on her and her family’s daily lives ─ would continue to post photos again in the future, he said.
“The content will be of photos or videos related to [Ani] and her interactions before, during, and after her time as the first lady,” he added.
There will be photos and that have never been published. The account will be managed by administrators and Yudhoyono himself.
Posts signed with the initials SBY in the caption are posts published by Yudhoyono himself, Ossy added.
Yudhoyono and Ani were married for 43 years and had two sons, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono.
The former first couple was known for their creative hobbies. Yudhoyono is an avid composer and singer, having released three albums so far, while Ani was a photographer, notable for her landscape photos routinely posted on her social media account.
Ani passed away in Singapore on June 1 after battling blood cancer since February. She was laid to rest at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta. (gis)
