TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that Indonesia needs heroic figures who fight for eradicating poverty, ignorance, and inequality.

"It is our obligation, as successors, to fill in the independence that our heroes had earned," he said after leading a commemorative event to honor Indonesia's fallen heroes on the National Heroes Day at Kalibata National Heroes Memorial Park in Jakarta on Sunday.

He said that the struggle for eradicating poverty, ignorance, backwardness, and inequality, among others, need to be continued.

A great nation, he continued, isthe one that respects the services of its heroes.

"We remember that the heroes have struggled for winning and defending the independence of our country, and it is our shared obligation, as successors, to continue to fill the independence that the heroes had earned," Jokowi said.

The theme of the 2019 National Heroes Day is "I am a Hero of the Present". With this theme, it is hoped that all Indonesian people will have the spirit of heroism and will be moved to strive in developing the country in their respective abilities and professions.

President Joko Widodo became a ceremonial inspector of this year's commemoration of the National Heroes Day at the Kalibata National Heroes Memorial Park in South Jakarta on Sunday to honor Indonesia's fallen heroes.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, along with several members of the Indonesian Onward Cabinet and top government officials, joined the president at the commemorative event.

President Jokowi laid a wreath of flowers at the memorial park's monument, and prayed for the fallen heroes. Religious Affairs Minister Fahcrul Razi recited prayers at the end of the commemorative event.

The National Heroes Day, which is commemorated to honor all Indonesian fighters killed and injured in the heroic Battle of Surabaya, East Java, on November 10, 1945, is also celebrated across the archipelago.

ANTARA