We attempt to conduct the funeral procession like the military does but the participants of it are civil servantsDepok, W Java (ANTARA) - The funeral of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho at a public cemetery in Boyolali District, Central Java Province, on Monday morning would be conducted like a military funeral procession, the agency's head, Lt.Gen.Doni Monardo said.
"We attempt to conduct the funeral procession like the military does but the participants of it are civil servants," he told journalists after delivering Sutopo's coffin to the mourning house at Raffles Hill in Depok city, West Java Province, on Sunday evening.
To this end, Monardo said he had coordinated with his colleagues at Central Java Province's and Boyolali District's Disaster Mitigation Agencies for sending their people to be the participants of Sutopo's funeral.
The passing of Sutopo has made the BNPB suffer a great loss because he is well known as a professional and hard-working civil servant.
Despite his serious illness, Sutopo remained committed to his professional work by disseminating accurate and immediate information on devastating disasters to the people at large. "He has worked wholeheartedly," Monardo said.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho who had suffered from lung cancer since 2017 died on early Sunday while being treated at the St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital, Guangzhou, China, since June 15, 2019.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo conveyed his condolences on the passing of this well-respected spokesman of the country's disaster mitigation agency. Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi also contacted Sutopo's wife to express her condolences.
His death has also made other elements in the Indonesian society feel grieved. Muhammadiyah's Disaster Mitigation Division also expressed its condolences to the mourning families. "We all suffer a great loss from the passing of Mr.Sutopo," Head of Muhammadiyah's Disaster Mitigation Division Budi Setiawan said in a statement on Sunday.
Despite his lung cancer, Sutopo who was born in Boyolali, Central Java, on Oct 7, 1969, remained committed to his professional work as the BNPB's spokesman by disseminating accurate and immediate information on catastrophic disasters, he said.
The accurate and immediate information that he publicly shared was so important to enable the people at large to get rid of misleading and contradicting information on occurring disasters, Setiawan said.
He prayed for Sutopo, and hoped that there would be new qualified spokespersons who could continue his work in Indonesia.
Sutopo's coffin had been flown to Adi Soemarno Airport in Solo, Central Java, on Monday morning, to be buried at Sasono Layu Public Cemetery in Boyolali District, at around 09.30 a.m. local time.
Translator: M.Fikri S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
