Residents Share Stories of Competing for Invitations to the 81st Indonesian Independence Day Ceremony at the Palace
Getting the opportunity to attend the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia ceremony at the Presidential Palace is an experience that is not easily obtained for most members of the public. To get an invitation, they had to take part in an online scramble or ‘war’ system. In fact, a number of residents only managed to get tickets after trying repeatedly over several days.
This enthusiasm was clearly visible at the Krida Bhakti Building, Ministry of State Secretariat, Jakarta, on Saturday (15/8). Quoting a press release from BPMI Setpres, a number of invitation recipients visited the location to collect physical tickets that they had previously obtained through online registration.
One of the lucky residents was Alin, a model from Serang, Banten. She said she only managed to get an invitation on the second day after taking part in the online scramble with great effort.
‘Honestly, it was really difficult. It was a real struggle. I had actually set an alarm, but I overslept. On the second day, as soon as I woke up, I immediately went to war and it turned out I got one,’ said Alin when met on Sunday (16/8).
Alin even prepared a special outfit to wear during the ceremony. She admitted she could hardly wait because President Prabowo Subianto was scheduled to act as the ceremony inspector. ‘Of course I am very impressed and I am already a big fan, I really want to take a photo actually. I feel very excited and very proud of Mr Prabowo,’ she said.
A similar story was experienced by Ilham, an online motorcycle taxi driver from Lampung who now lives in Cipondoh, Tangerang. During the first five days, he kept trying but always failed. A new opportunity opened up for him after information emerged about an additional quota from the government.
‘When there was information from the Minister of State Secretary saying there would be an addition, I stayed on again on Tuesday, the 11th. Finally, thank God, I got one,’ said Ilham. He admitted he was most looking forward to the fighter jet display, which he usually only watched on television.
The same enthusiasm was felt by Nurul, a resident of Central Jakarta, and Aulia from Bekasi. For Nurul, the moment she most wanted to experience in person was when the song Mengheningkan Cipta was played. ‘Honestly, I want to hear the song Mengheningkan Cipta live, it seems like it would give me goosebumps,’ she said.
On the other hand, a different experience was had by Bagas Prasetyo. The private sector employee from Sukabumi said he did not need long to get an invitation. Bagas only prepared five minutes before registration opened and immediately succeeded on his first attempt.
‘I was told I was indeed lucky, because I only got ready five minutes before it started. I got one straight away. Other people refreshed many times and could not get one, but I went in once, immediately filled in my data, everything was done and it was sent straight away,’ said Bagas.
When collecting the invitation at the Krida Bhakti Building, Bagas also assessed that the process was very fast and orderly, unlike the reports of long queues he had previously heard about.
These various stories show that the public’s enthusiasm for the 81st Anniversary of Indonesian Independence is very high. Even though they had different experiences—from those who had to wait for an additional quota to those who relied on luck—they shared the same goal: to witness history and enjoy the atmosphere of independence at the Presidential Palace firsthand.