Guess What? Ali Sadikin

Former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin received a nice surprise last Sunday when he was declared Yogyakarta's honorary resident for his role in making batik the official dress for his staff in the 1970s while serving as governor.

The award was presented by Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X during the closing ceremony of the three-day Batik Festival and Competition in Yogyakarta.

"This is to show our gratitude for what he has done. His policy of making batik the official dress had helped to popularize batik and boost its industry," Sri Sultan said.

Ali Sadikin himself said he never expected to receive the award for his policy. He said he came up with the policy, simply because then, batiks was much cheaper than suits.

"I just wanted to help my staff buy affordable uniforms. That's all," the 73-year-old man said.

And he did not realize that there were so many types of and designs in batiks.

"I was only informed a few weeks ago that there are Yogyakarta motifs, Surakarta motifs, coastal motifs and so on," said Ali, who hunted for batik outfits with Yogyakarta motifs, prior to attending the event. He also wore one for the occassion.(swa)