Megawati Scatters Flowers After Inaugurating Kudatuli Monument

PDI Perjuangan (PDIP) Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri scattered flowers and laid wreaths before the Kudatuli Monument as a tribute to the victims of the 27 July 1996 incident in front of the DPP PDIP office in Jakarta on Monday. The solemn flower-scattering procession saw Megawati accompanied by DPP PDIP Chair and her son, Prananda Prabowo, along with his wife Nancy Prananda, and their two children, Muhammad Prabhaswara Pranakarno and Diah Safira Octaliakasih. Meutia Hatta and Halida Hatta, daughters of First Vice President Mohammad Hatta, were also present alongside sculptor Dolorosa Sinaga, accompanied by DPP PDI Perjuangan Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto. Following the procession, Megawati and the attending guests posed with the ‘Merdeka’ salute, affirming the spirit of safeguarding the democratic values fought for during the 27 July 1996 incident. The event concluded with a group photo session in front of the Kudatuli Monument. The monument depicts a female figure appearing to embrace five bowed figures. In her speech, Megawati specifically thanked the artist who created the monument. ‘To all of you whom I love, I specifically thank the artist I know and who is skilled. I call her Mbak Dolorosa Sinaga, who has beautifully depicted what I have been contemplating all this time,’ Megawati said. Megawati then recounted the contemplative process that gave birth to the monument’s concept. For her, the monument is not merely stone and metal, but a symbol of struggle born from deep reflection. ‘Contemplation is thinking, reflecting, praying. I always pray, asking Allah SWT, when will the state of the Republic of Indonesia, as envisioned by my father, become a sovereign nation, rich and prosperous, where its people live in welfare, safety, and peace,’ she stated. Megawati explained that the monument embodies what she calls ‘revolutionary patience’, born from faith, steadfastness, and courage. ‘This monument depicts revolutionary patience born from faith, steadfastness, and courage. In my contemplation, I see my own life, which I summarise into words: that if we believe in life and know what our faith is for, then we must have steadfastness and courage. After that, in carrying it out, we must never give up. Therefore, we must have revolutionary patience,’ she explained.