Heaptalk, Jakarta — President Joko Widodo will arrive in West Kutai, East Kalimantan on November 3, 2023, as reported on the RRI official website.
The Regency Government and the committee for the 24th West Kutai Anniversary are preparing a festive event to welcome President Joko Widodo. Around 25,000 West Kutai residents will be mobilized for a welcoming event in Sendawar which coincides with the Dahau Festival to commemorate the 24th anniversary of West Kutai Regency.
“To welcome President Joko Widodo, the committee has made a circular to all village and district heads to send representatives from 194 villages throughout West Kutai. Our target is that at least 25,000 residents will attend the event,” said Assistant III of the West Kutai Regency Secretariat Sahadi in a dialogue with RRI Sendawar some time ago.
The welcoming event will start from Melalan Airport to Itho Sendawar Square at the West Kutai Regency Government Office Complex. Sahadi voiced, “After that, President Joko Widodo is going to participate in the declaration and thanksgiving for the transfer of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) at the Sendwar Cultural Park as well as receiving the Dayak traditional title. Further, the number one person in Indonesia will visit the MSME exhibition stand at the Sendawar Cultural Park.”
After Friday prayers, President Joko Widodo will inspect the Aji Tullur Jejangkat (ATJ) Bridge in Melak District. “Looking at the rundown of the President’s activities which we have arranged neatly, there are many agendas that will be visited, but due to limited time, many agendas have been reduced. This is because there is a palace protocol that regulates the President’s activities. Surely, we are very grateful that the President wants to come to West Kutai,” said Sahadi, who is also on the committee for the Dahau Festival.
Breaking MURI record for wearing traditional Dayak bags
Apart from gathering the masses to welcome the President, the Dahau committee also plans to break the Indonesian Museum of Records (Muri) through the mawig gawangk event, namely gathering the largest number of people wearing traditional Dayak bags on November 5, 2023.
President Joko Widodo’s arrival in West Kutai will also be greeted with a colossal dance which will be performed by 750 senior high school and vocational high school students in the regency. This show will feature six ethnic cultures in West Kutai. The colossal dancers are preparing themselves to give their best performance when welcoming the President’s arrival.
The choreographer of the colossal dance at West Kutai’s anniversary last year Hertalina revealed that there will be additional ethnic elements in the dance, including Javanese, Batak, Toraja, and East Nusa Tenggara ethnicities to complement the six ethnicities that already exist in West Kutai.
“We have two agendas, firstly welcoming President Joko Widodo and secondly a colossal dance performance on November 5,” Hertalina said. She hopes that through this moment, students in West Kutai will gain the opportunity to preserve the culture and arts in West Kutai Regency. (Translated by Sinta)
