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