Poet Hamid Jabar laid to rest

Poet Hamid Jabar laid to rest

Noted poet Hamid Jabar was buried at Pondok Rangon cemetery in
East Jakarta on Sunday after his body was laid out at his home on
Jl. Kelapa Dua Wetan in Ciracas.

Other prominent poets Taufik Ismail, Sutardji Calzoum Bachrie
and Amak Baldjun attended the burial. Fellow poets said Hamid
will be remembered for his religious prose.

Hamid collapsed on Saturday night while reciting a poem on
stage as part of events to mark the anniversary of the Syarif
Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) in South Jakarta.

When he fell from the stage, the audience thought it was part
of the performance and began to applaud, private television
station SCTV reported.

When he did not stand up, students, event committee members
and others approached Hamid. They then gave him cardio-vascular
resuscitation, while calling for an ambulance from the nearby UIN
clinic.

When no ambulance arrived, students brought Hamid immediately
to the clinic, a UIN security guard told Antara.

He said the poet, however, died on the way to the clinic.

The poetry reading event continued with a committee member
announcing the death of Hamid, while noted pop singer Franky
Sahilatua sang a song in his honor along with the audience. -- JP