Mega plans massive party to mark 57th birthday

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Museum of Records (Muri) will likely add to its collection thanks to President Megawati Soekarnoputri's generous plan to invite 5,300 people to celebrate her 57th birthday on Jan. 23 at the Jababeka industrial estate in Cikarang, West Java.

There is a good chance the museum will declare this fiesta the largest presidential birthday celebration ever held in Indonesian history. The biggest obstacle Megawati faces in grabbing the record is probably her father Sukarno, the country's founding president, who was known to put on huge events during his rule.

According to an internal memo circulated by the Presidential Secretariat on Friday, the President's guests will include orphans, factory workers and businesspeople. The party will be held after Megawati visits factories operating inside the estate on Friday morning.

The President will invite all of the people working at the industrial estate to share in the celebration of her birthday.

Hundreds of orphans from several orphanage in the capital and the surrounding areas will also have the opportunity to have lunch with the First Family.

"At the party the President is expected to cut nasi kuning (a traditional rice cone) prepared for her," the memo states.

Megawati was born in Yogyakarta on Jan. 23, 1947.

This will be the biggest birthday party Megawati has hosted since replacing Abdurrahman Wahid as President in 2001. She spent her first birthday in office with her family and the second with a small group of members from her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

A palace official, who spoke to The Jakarta Post on the condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the birthday gathering could be construed as an early campaign stop for the upcoming general election. Megawati will also contest the country's first ever direct presidential election in July.

Megawati's brother in-law, Santayana Kiemas, was quick to deny the birthday party was a political rally, saying the PDI-P would not be involved in the event.

"It is a personal or a presidential event, separate from the party. Therefore it cannot be considered a campaign rally," Santayana told the Post.

When asked about possible negative reactions to the massive birthday party, the palace official said: "We are still preparing the event, but in the end it is up to the President to decide whether she will have it like that or not."