August 16, 2022 – Monumen Nasional (Monas) Area in Central Jakarta will be temporarily closed starting Tuesday (16/8) for Independence Day preparations or HUT RI ke-77.
“[we] just sterilize the area for the preparation of the flag carnival,” said the head of UPT Monas, Muhammad Isa Sarnuri.
Sarnuri cannot confirm whether the Jakarta Provincial Government will use Monas to prepare for the Independence Day ceremony again or not. According to him, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has held a rehearsal ceremony today.
The police will close the road to Istana Negara on Tuesday night around 9 PM WIB. The road closure will happen until Wednesday (17/8) at around 5 PM WIB or after the flag lowering ceremony.
Furthermore, it’s advisable to not cross the Jalan Medan Merdeka areas and find alternative routes during the eve and events of the Independence Day celebration.
Monas will reopen on Wednesday (17/8) at 8 AM or during the post-ceremonial carnival. He encouraged citizens to see the carnival process or the red and white flag handing process to Istana Negara.
DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is likely to become the inspector or commander of the Indonesian Independence Day ceremony held by the DKI Provincial Government at the Plaza Selatan Monas.
Baswedan will read a speech with the theme of “Pulih Lebih Cepat, Bangkit Lebih Kuat”, which translated to “Recover Faster, Rise Stronger.” The theme is the same theme that has been decided by the central government.
Jokowi Inaugurates 68 Flag-Raising Troops
President of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated 68 Flag-Raising Troops (Paskibraka) for the state ceremony commemorating the 77th Independence Day of Indonesia.
The inauguration began with the pledge of the Indonesian flag-raising troop candidates led by the chairman of BPIP Yudian Wahyudi. Then, Jokowi officialise the members of Paskibraka.
Jokowi also prays for the success of the 68 members of Paskibraka. He hopes that God will give grace and convenience to the flag-raising troops.