Palu mayor passes away

Palu mayor passes away

PALU, Central Sulawesi: The mayor of Palu, H. Baso Lamakarate,
64, passed away on Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time at Undata
general hospital, Palu municipality.

Red-and-white flags were flown at half-mast by city residents
to mourn the death of the much-respected mayor. Before he died,
he was in intensive care for one night at a local hospital.

According to his nephew, Iwan Lapaesre, the sudden demise of
his uncle was a shock to the family, as he seemed to be in good
health during the election on Monday. He went to the polling
station to vote.

Iwan said that his uncle had a number of medical complaints
such as hepatitis and diabetes. "We really felt the loss of Uncle
Baso," he said sadly.

The news of his death came as quite a shock to Palu residents,
even though they already knew about his ailment since he became
mayor.

Reports surfaced earlier this year that the mayor had passed
away, but they were later found to be untrue.

As of late afternoon, high-ranking officials from the Central
Sulawesi government, the provincial police and regental
administration were still paying their respects to the family of
the deceased. After being laid out at his official residence on
Jl. Garuda, the deceased was later taken to the family graveyard
in Biromaru, Sigi Biromaru district. -- JP