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Jakarta celebrates New Year's Eve with hope, optimism
Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta to celebrate New Year’s Eve with optimism for 2020 and beyond.
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Thousands of people celebrate the New Year under the rain at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. (Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama)
H
eavy rainfall that lasted all night on Tuesday did not stop revelers of Jakarta from rejoicing in the final moments of 2019 as they waved goodbye to a hectic political year while wishing for social harmony and a prosperous future.
Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta, where entertainment stages were erected, to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
East Jakarta resident Mei Jerry, 38, who celebrated the end of the year with his wife and daughter at culinary center Thamrin 10, said he hoped to see intolerance shrink in 2020.
“It seems like tolerance has eroded this year due to the [presidential] election with worsening sectarian tension. I hope we become a more tolerant nation because, even though I’m a Muslim, Islam is not the only religion here,” he said.
“I believe we can make it happen.”
Indonesia witnessed its most divisive presidential election in 2019, with the nation split between two camps – many of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s supporters were nationalists while many of Prabowo Subianto’s were conservative Muslims.
The battle was not only in the political arena as arguments also frayed relations between friends and families.
