Independence is our golden bridge, and the other side of the golden bridge is a better life.
Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA) - Thousands of senior high school students and teachers on Thursday formed a human chain on the Surabaya-Madura (Suramadu) Bridge, East Java, the longest bridge in Indonesia, to unfurl a 3,219-meter Red-and-White flag to mark Heroes' Day.

"This Red-and-White flag’s length is 3,219 meters and has been sewn by students of Ma'arif Senior High School of Mojokerto," East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said here on Thursday.

At a procession organized by the provincial authority, the Red-and-White flag was held aloft over the bridge from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. local time (UTC +7) by senior high school students and teachers.

The governor said that this was done to show that independence is the nation's golden bridge, as conveyed by the nation’s founding father and first president, Soekarno.

"Independence is our golden bridge, and the other side of the golden bridge is a better life. The Red-and-White flag has heroic colors, which form the identity of the Indonesian nation and state. The global community will also perceive Indonesia as a strong and mighty nation," Parawansa expounded.

While expressing an apology to residents as the procession caused traffic congestion over the bridge, the governor said that the procession was aimed at promoting nationalism on Heroes' Day.

"This is how we recall our memories of nationalism, which we must develop and enhance again. The momentum is November 10, 2022. I wish the Indonesian nation a happy Heroes' Day," she remarked.

Meanwhile, senior manager of the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI), Triyono, said that his institution declared the Red-and-White flag hoisting procession as a world record.

"The raising of the Red-and-White flag, so far (on this kind of magnitude), has never occurred yet, either in Indonesia or any foreign country," he added.

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Translator: Abdul H/Hanif N, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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