The people who came from different parts of Indonesia packed not only the stadium but also the roads around the stadium to pray for Gus Dur, an Antara journalist observed.
Among the attendees were national Muslim cleric KH Mustofa Bisri (Gus Mus), leader of Al Muayyat Islamic boarding school in Solo KH Abdul Rosaq Shofawi, national figure Mahfud MD, expert staff for communication and information management of the Religious Affairs Ministry Oman Fathurahman, Central Java Vice Governor Taj Yasin, Chief of the Central Java Provincial Police Inspector General Condro Kirono, Chief of the Diponegoro Regional Military Command Major General Mochamad Effendi, and Surakarta Mayor F.X Hadi Rudyatmo.
Also present were Sudjiatmi Noto Mihardjo, the mother of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), and Yenny Wahid, the daughter of the country`s fourth president Gus Dur.
Chief of the event`s organizing committee, Hussein Syifa, said the gathering was the peak of a series of events including book review, cultural parade and national dialog held to mark the ninth anniversary of Gus Dur`s death.
Syifa said around 30 thousand people packed the stadium, not to mention tens of thousands of attendees outside the stadium.
"They were from Boyolali, Klaten, Sukoharjo, Wonogiri, Karanganyar and Sragen (districts) and Solo city. They sincerely came to Solo because of their love for Gus Dur," he said.
Yenny Wahid was moved to see tens of thousands of people attending the event sincerely. "Before this event is held, I dreamed of seeing Gus Dur smiling. He likely knows about the sincerity of the people attending this event," she said.
Reporting by Bambang Dwi Marwoto, Suharto
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
