{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1628085,
        "msgid": "hardis-story-three-times-celebrating-eid-with-the-president-1774075877",
        "date": "2026-03-21 13:01:25",
        "title": "Hardi's Story: Three Times Celebrating Eid with the President",
        "author": "Dita Angga Rusiana",
        "source": "KOMPAS",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Politics",
        "summary": "Hardi, a 30-year-old resident from Bogor, has participated in the Eid al-Fitr halal bihalal event at the Presidential Palace for three consecutive years, shaking hands with both the previous president and the current one, Prabowo Subianto. He described the excitement of queuing for hours post-prayer at Istiqlal Mosque to exchange greetings with the head of state, noting Prabowo's surprising warmth despite his authoritative presence. Meanwhile, Deni Ramdani, an online motorbike taxi driver from East Jakarta, brought his family to the event, forgoing work to allow his wife to meet the president, highlighting the public's enthusiasm for this annual tradition.",
        "content": "<p>A resident from Bogor, Hardi (30), has been queuing for more than\nthree hours in front of the Majapahit gate at the Merdeka Palace complex\nin Central Jakarta on Saturday (21\/3\/2026). He began queuing after\ncompleting the congregational Eid al-Fitr prayer at Istiqlal Mosque\naround 07.00 WIB. Participating in the halal bihalal at the palace\nduring Eid has been a tradition for Hardi over the past three years. He\nadmitted that he deliberately chose to spend the first day of Eid\nshaking hands with the President. \u201cThen in 2025, it was the same, but\nthe president had changed to Mr Prabowo. Alhamdulillah, I\u2019ve shaken\nhands with both after queuing for the halal bihalal,\u201d he explained.\nHardi also shared his impressions of the handshake with the president.\nThere was a feeling of joy and relief after queuing for hours to\ndirectly exchange greetings with the head of state. However, according\nto Hardi, the first handshake with President Prabowo during Eid al-Fitr\n2025 was more thrilling. \u201cShaking hands with him was more nerve-wracking\nbecause of his aura, you know. He is heavily guarded, but when shaking\nhands, Mr Prabowo turned out to be a friendly person,\u201d Hardi said. \u201cI\nwant to shake hands again. Once a year, it\u2019s okay to shake hands with\nthe president,\u201d he added. Meanwhile, Deni Ramdani (35) brought his wife\nand three children to queue for the halal bihalal at the palace. Dressed\nin matching turquoise Eid outfits, Deni's family stood out among the\nqueue of residents stretching over more than 60 metres in front of the\nPresidential Palace complex. Deni's family travelled from Cakung in East\nJakarta to Istiqlal Mosque first before joining the halal bihalal queue.\nDeni, who works daily as an online motorbike taxi driver (ojol),\nwillingly took the day off and did not pick up passengers throughout\nSaturday to queue for the halal bihalal at the palace. In addition,\nDeni's family has not yet done halal bihalal with their neighbours.\n\u201cToday is specially for queuing to meet Mr President. My wife happens to\nbe enthusiastic about meeting Mr Prabowo. The children just follow,\u201d\nDeni added.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hardis-story-three-times-celebrating-eid-with-the-president-1774075877",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}