August 19, 2024
JAKARTA – Citizens across the archipelago celebrated the 79th year of Indonesian independence on Saturday, including those who turned to creative ways to mark the occasion, even as the spotlight shone on the first Independence Day ceremony in Nusantara, East Kalimantan.
In Jakarta, vocalist Imela “Imel” Soetman of pop band Ten 2 Five performed the national anthem “Indonesia Raya” (Indonesia the great) during an underwater flag raising ceremony at the Jakarta Aquarium and Safari in Grogol, West Jakarta.
Despite the challenging environment and occasional interruptions by hundreds of the aquarium’s marine denizens, Imel said the underwater performance, her first, was “like a dream”, Antara reported.
In West Nusa Tenggara, a village in West Lombok marked the national holiday by celebrating members from its disabled community as flag bearers in its flag raising ceremony.
With a population of around 5,000 people, Taman Ayu village counts a little under a hundred people with disabilities among its residents.
Muhidin, head of the Taman Ayu Disability Forum, expressed his joy and pride for having the chance to take part in the ceremony. He added that the forum’s flag bearers had prepared by rehearsing every afternoon for the five days leading up to the big day.
“We hope that next year, we can hold a flag raising ceremony like this again,” said Muhidin, who also led the flag ceremony, as quoted by Antara.
In the East Java capital of Surabaya, 250 students and teachers from SMP Muhammadiyah 2 Surabaya junior high school held a flag raising ceremony aboard a ferry anchored beneath Suramadu Bridge, which connects the city to nearby Madura Island.
Despite some challenges, including participants trying to find their sea legs and others suffering seasickness, the flag raisers said they were able to maintain high enthusiasm throughout the ceremony.
Muhammadiyah 2 principal Ida Indahwati Waliulu said the school hoped that holding the ceremony in the Madura Strait would help foster unity among students and give them a unique celebration to remember.
Meanwhile, the festivities in Yogyakarta took on a retro ambiance centered in a flag raising ceremony at the Ndalem Pakuningratan cultural heritage building. Dressed in vintage clothing, such as traditional Javanese attire including kebaya and the uniforms Indonesian soldiers wore back in 1945, participants of the flag raising ceremony also rode vintage bicycles, known as ontel.
Following the flag raising ceremony, which was organized by a local community of ontel enthusiasts, the participants paraded around the city, stopping by several historical sites in Yogyakarta, Kompas.com reported.