Jakartans called on to greet Games torch
Jakartans called on to greet Games torch
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja yesterday
asked Jakartans to welcome the 14th National Games flame, which
is scheduled to cross the city's boundary in front of the
University of Indonesia campus in Depok on Sunday morning.
The flame will be kept in the City Hall after touring the
city's five mayoralties on the eve of the Games, which run from
Sept. 9 to Sept. 20.
Jakartans are expected to line the streets through which the
flame will be carried and welcome the procession with miniature
national flags.
A West Java deputy governor will pass the flame to a Jakarta
deputy governor, who will in turn pass it to the South Jakarta
mayor in a ceremony. The flame will then be carried by runners to
East Jakarta.
The torch will start its South Jakarta tour in front of the
Kalibata Mall and its North Jakarta leg in front of the Honda
motor factory on Jl. Yos Sudarso.
Its trip from North Jakarta to West Jakarta will begin in
front of the Fatahillah museum in Kota area. From there it will
cross the boundary between West and Central Jakarta in front of
Lotus Best Boy. A short journey passing along Jl. Merdeka Barat
and Jl Merdeka Selatan will take the flame to its final
destination, the City Hall.
Ministers
Three cabinet ministers are to run with the torch from the
fountain on Jl. Thamrin to the City Hall. The VIPs are Minister
of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman, Minister of Forestry
Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo and Minister of Finance Mar'ie
Muhammad. Three Jakarta deputy governors will accompany the
ministers.
The flame is scheduled to be handed over to the Jakarta
Governor in a twilight ceremony.
President Soeharto and Vice President Try Sutrisno will
witness the country's 51-year-old archery legend Donald
Pandiangan, nicknamed Robin Hood, light the cauldron in the
opening ceremony.
Yesterday the flame toured East Priangan in West Java. The
tour covered the regencies of Ciamis, Tasikmalaya and Garut.
Drizzles welcome the flame when it entered Tasikmalaya, a town
in the foot of Mount Galunggung. But the crowd remained
enthusiastic. Despite the shower they came out of their houses
and line the streets to cheer the flame.
The torch reached Garut in the dusk and received another warm
welcome from the town residents. Until then, the flame has
covered a distance of about 1,400 kilometers.
This morning the flame will set off to Bandung, the capital
city of West Java, covering a distance of 75 kilometers. From
Bandung, the flame will go to Bogor and from Bogor to Jakarta.
(arf)