City to hold a grand celebration for award

City to hold a grand celebration for award

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will hold a grand
celebration as an expression of gratitude in connection with the
naming of Jakarta as the recipient of the 1994 meritorious
Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha development award.

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced early last week that
Jakarta, which has provincial status, won the award after beating
other nominees in line with its noteworthy achievements during
the Fifth Five Year Development period from April 1989 to April
1994.

The Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha is bestowed to a province
with an outstanding performance in development over the past five
years.

"Jakarta will receive the development award only once in its
history, hence it is necessary to hold a grand celebration as an
expression of thanks," said Djoko Brotosurjono, an inspector at
the City's Inspectorate Office.

Djoko made the remarks after attending a preparatory meeting
for the celebration which was led by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja
at City Hall yesterday.

According to Djoko, a province is only entitled to one
Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha development award, which is similar
to that of a flag, despite any further achievements.

Provinces who have won Parasamya award, such as East, Central
and West Java or West Sumatra, can only receive the
Prayojanakriya Pata Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha award, which is
in the form of a ribbon, should they win again in the future.

Djoko said the award will be presented by President Soeharto
to Governor Surjadi at a ceremony to be held in the Jakarta Fair
Grounds in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

"Fifty representatives from the city's 256 subdistricts and
around 4,000 very-important-persons, including ambassadors, will
be invited to the ceremony," he added.

The formal ceremony will be highlighted by the performance of
dance groups, a choir with musicians playing the traditional
angklung bamboo musical instrument and a flyover demonstration.

Plenary session

Djoko said that the award will later be brought from Kemayoran
to the City Council, which will hold a special plenary session as
expression of gratitude before the award is permanently kept at
the City Hall.

The celebration is scheduled to be held at the end of this
month.

In a related development, Deputy Governor for Social Welfare
Museno told The Jakarta Post that the city administration has yet
to receive a notice from the Binagraha Presidential Office as to
when the award will be conferred by President Soeharto.

"We are still waiting for a notice from the (Presidential)
office," Museno said.

Both Djoko and Museno would not reveal how much the grand
celebration will cost.

In response to the Home Affairs Ministry's announcement on the
1994 recipient of the development award last week, city
councilors have said that Jakarta deserved the award judging by
its achievements in various fields, including in the economic
sector with the high growth of gross domestic product and the
regreening programs, in the past five years.

"It goes without saying that Jakarta deserves the award," said
city councilor Sahala P. Sinaga of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) faction.

Councilor Aliwongso Halomoan Sinaga, of the Golkar functional
group faction, and Saud Rachman from the United Development Party
(PPP) faction concurred with Sahala that Jakarta deserves the
award on the grounds that it is able to maintain high economic
growth despite the accumulating urbanization problems it has
endured year after year. (arf/has)