90 floats to join national parade on development

90 floats to join national parade on development

JAKARTA (JP): Some 90 floats representing government
institutions, state-owned companies, private firms and
foundations are scheduled to take part in the national
development parade on Sunday, an official said yesterday.

Prawoto Danoemihardjo, assistant to the city secretary in
charge of development affairs, told reporters that the 90 floats
will include 20 from central government institutions, 11 from
regional administrations, 26 from state-owned companies, two from
foundations, and 15 vehicles from the Nusantara Flower Group.

The parade, to be kicked off by President Soeharto at the
National Monument (Monas) square, is part of the commemoration of
the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence by over 30
large-scale parties, Prawoto said.

Besides the floats, the parade will also include 19 marching
bands, an ondel-ondel art group and a group of male roller
skaters, he said.

Prawoto said that in the first stage the floats, marching
bands, the ondel-ondel group and the skaters will parade from
Monas along Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat and Jl. M.H. Thamrin to the
Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

From the traffic circle only the floats will continue the
parade along Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jl. MT Haryono, Jl.
DI. Panjaitan, Jl. A. Yani, Jl. R. Suprapto, Jl. Kramat Bunder,
Jl. Senen Raya, Jl. Dr. Wahidin, Jl. Gunung Sahari, Jl. Dr.
Sutomo, Jl. Gedung Kesenian, Jl. Lapangan Banteng Utara, Jl.
Kathedral, Jl. Veteran and Jl. Majapahit and back to Monas.

Prawoto said that the procession is scheduled to start with a
launching ceremony at 7:30 a.m. and the whole parade is expected
to last until about 1:30 p.m. "All invitees are suggested to
arrive at the ceremony scene about thirty minutes earlier," he
said.

The ceremony, taking place at the former stage of Kenduri
Nasional party on Aug. 19 when about one million people thronged
Monas square, will also be attended by First Lady Tien Soeharto,
Vice President and Mrs. Try Sutrisno as well as 2,000 other
invitees.

A music group from the Indonesian Navy Headquarters in
Cilangkap, East Jakarta, will present songs at the ceremony to
make it more lively, he said.

He said that the opening dance will be presented by the City
Culture Office, entitled Gelar Derap Persada Indonesia which will
be directed by Wiwiek Widiyastuti and Joko SS. It will be
followed with the release of 2,000 red and white balloons, 100 of
which will be filled with vouchers worth Rp 50,000 (US$22.09).

Prawoto, who is also the coordinator of the parade, has
invited the public to see the parade, stating that there will be
no special places or facilities provided for them.

"We will not provide special facilities due to the limited
fund," he said.

He urged the public to be disciplined when watching the parade
and not to destroy any sidewalk greenery. "I need not explain
further about what 'discipline' means. People should know all the
implications," he said.

He urged motorists not wanting to see the parade to avoid the
route the floats will take.

More than 2,000 officers from the City Security and Order
Office, including policemen from the City Police Headquarters,
will be deployed to keep public order during the parade, he
added. (32)