JAKARTA – The acting governor of Kepulauan Bangka Belitung (Babel) Suganda Pandapotan Pasaribu and his wife Maya Suganda Pasaribu walked on the catwalk in front of Merdeka Palace like a couple of models on Sunday night (1/10).
Both of them wore the blue typical Cual clothes of Babel. The Palace in Batik Fashion Show was attended by the president of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo and the first lady Iriana Jokowi and the vice president Ma’ruf Amin and his wife Wury Estu Handayani.
Hundreds of people participated in the show to commemorate the national batik day consisting of state officials from ministries, state-owned companies, public figures, representatives of Nusantara kingdoms, and ambassadors.
“I wear Ketuyut or Kantong Semar Cual motif. It symbolizes love. It means that we must love, respect, and protect each other to create peace and happiness,” said Suganda in the Palace.
The acting governor supports the shows. It is the proof that the government supported the creative economy of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It will increase the selling of Batik. Furthermore, Cual is as good as Batik from other areas.
He hoped it would be a public’s feast to promote intangible heritage of Indonesia to the world.
The president asked the people to proud of Indonesian culture and actively preserve and develop it through the event.
“Our nation must be proud to have Batik. It’s not a common work of art, but it’s the world intangible heritage. Its symbol, technique and culture are Indonesia,” said Joko Widodo wearing brown parang motif batik. (Budi/SAS/ZE)
