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Jokowi awards medals to wife, prominent figures
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P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo granted civilian honors to more than a dozen people on Monday, including current government officials, environmental scientists and cultural figures, as well as his own wife, First Lady Iriana, and the wife of Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.
The First Lady received the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana, one of the state's highest civilian distinctions. Three other honorees received the Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana, another high distinction. They were Second Lady Wury Estu Handayani, Constitutional Court Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, a Jokowi-appointee who joined the nine-member bench in 2017, and Sukma Violetta, one of seven commissioners of the Judicial Commission.
The awards ceremony was held at the State Palace on Monday, about a year before the end of Jokowi’s final term as President. Among the attendees were Vice President Ma’ruf and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, who oversaw the selection of the medal recipients.
In total, Jokowi awarded 18 figures, including two members of his inner circle: special staffers to the President Ari Dwipayana and Sukardi Rinakit.
Ari and Sukardi received the Bintang Jasa Utama medal, the nation’s third-highest civilian honor, awarded for distinguished achievement in a specific event or field.
Three other figures received the same medal: North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), KY commissioner Sumartoyo and veteran diplomat Makarim Wibisono, who has a long track record in the field of human rights.
Another KY commissioner, Joko Sasmito, received the Bintang Mahaputra Utama, the third-class distinction in the five-tier Mahaputra honors system, given to figures considered to have made “extraordinary” contributions to the country’s unity, continuity and prosperity. The Bintang Mahaputra medals are the second-highest set of civilian honors, after the Bintang Republik Indonesia medals.
Fourth- and fifth-class medals in the Bintang Mahaputra group were bestowed, respectively, to National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Boy Rafli Amar and Net TV cofounder Wishnutama Kusubandio. Boy is a retired two-star police general who served as Papua Police chief in 2017 and as the deputy chief of the police’s education and training institute (Lemdiklat) in 2018 before being appointed to helm the counterterrorism agency in 2020. Wishnutama served as tourism and creative economy minister in Jokowi’s cabinet from 2019 to 2020.
Three environmental experts – including scientist Edvin Aldrian of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), who has been active in promoting climate change science – and a museum expert were recipients of Bintang Jasa medals of two different classes.
Meanwhile, late Balinese cultural practitioner and king of Ubud Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, and late educational artist Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Haryo Djojokusumo were awarded the Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma for distinguished achievement in arts and culture.
Indonesian presidents have typically bestowed honors on prominent citizens in the days leading up to the country’s Independence Day on Aug. 17.
The awards have, at times, been subject to criticism for appearing to honor political allies rather than figures who have made significant contributions to the country.
In 2012, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono bestowed the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipradana on his late wife, Kristiani “Ani” Herrawati, for her contributions to women’s empowerment, education, health and environmental conservation.
