Jakarta (ANTARA) - The funeral procession for the remains of Rizal Ramli, the former coordinating minister for maritime affairs who passed away on Tuesday evening, would take place at the Jeruk Purut Cemetery, South Jakarta, on Thursday.

"The funeral procession will take place tomorrow, and Rizal's remains will be buried next to that of his wife," Yosef Sampurna, who represents the late Rizal Ramli family, stated on Wednesday.

The funeral procession would be held after zuhur (daily midday) prayer, he remarked, adding that late Ramli's daughter is taking a flight back home from the United States and is expected to arrive prior to the burial.

Ramli's remains arrived at the mourning house from the Cipto Mangunkusumo Public Hospital (RSCM), Central Jakarta, at 00:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Several family members and friends were sighted visiting the mourning house to pay their last respects to the late minister.

Indonesia's noted figures, including President Joko Widodo, former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Presidential candidate number 1 Anies Baswedan, also sent condolence floral stands to the mourning house.

Ramli, who reportedly suffered from pancreatic cancer, died at the age of 69 after being treated at RSCM for his illness.

Born on December 10, 1954, he earned his undergraduate degree in engineering physics from the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1973.

During his study at ITB, he was well-known as a student activist who was critical to the Soeharto regime. As a result, he had been jailed as a political prisoner.

Ramli pursued his postgraduate study at Boston University and secured a PhD in economics degree from the university in 1990. Since then, he was also known as an influential economist in Indonesia.

During President Abdurrahman Wahid's administration, he had headed State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and was appointed as coordinating minister for economy and finance minister.

In his first presidential term, President Widodo had appointed Ramli as coordinating minister for maritime affairs in his cabinet.

Ramli left the ministerial post after being reshuffled and was replaced by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on July 27, 2016.

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Translator: MM Al Afghani, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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