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)