JakartaPost-Aug 17
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo celebrated Indonesia’s 79th Independence Day with a ceremony in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, on Saturday, the first such celebration in the nation’s future capital, with a simultaneous event also held in Jakarta. The national flag-hoisting ceremony was led by President Jokowi, who was accompanied by First Lady Iriana and Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto. It was then broadcast to the State Palace in Jakarta, where Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and vice president-elect and Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka were in attendance. Jokowi and Iriana donned the kustim costume of the Kutai indigenous community that mostly resides in East Kalimantan. Saturday’s ceremony was the first time for the annual national Independence Day festivities to be held in two places simultaneously. Prevailing regulations mandate Independence Day ceremonies be held in the nation’s capital city. While the laws mandating the capital relocation from Jakarta to Nusantara, namely the Capital City Law and Jakarta Special Designation Law, have been enacted since 2021, President Jokowi has yet to issue the Presidential Decree (Keppres) that stipulates the formal declaration of the new capital city. “This is a transition period, from Jakarta to Nusantara. So, the road to the relocation must be apparent. That’s why the celebrations will be held in both places,” Jokowi said in June. The government initially planned to invite up to 8,000 guests for the ceremony. But it later revised the guest list to 1,300, citing insufficient accommodation due to unfinished construction in Nusantara. Read more at:
