Guess What? Ali Sadikin

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)