TEMPO.CO, Denpasar - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) joined the parade to mark the opening of the 38th Bali Art Festival prepared by an art group representing the Gianyar District on Saturday.
Bali`s governor Made Mangku Pastika, who joined the President as he mingled with the people to greet them, said he hoped "the event would motivate us to continue to create and will inspire to produce the best work."
President Jokowi, as he is also called, rode a float, and was flanked by First Lady Iriana, Education Minister Anies Baswedan, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, Governor Made Mangku Pastika and his wife Ayu Pastika.
President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana, wearing traditional Balinese costumes, joined the parade from the very start for the opening ceremony, right in front of the Bajra Sandhi Balinese Monument of Struggle.
President Joko Widodo used the opportunity to distribute books and t-shirts to many in the crowd. After disembarking from the float, he let people click selfies with him in front the governors office.
"This was a request he had made. He initially wished to join the parade midway but changed his mind because he thought if he did so, other would disperse," Pastika explained.
The parade started one and a half hour late than the initially scheduled time of 14:00 hours because it had to wait for the President who was busy inspecting a power plant project in Pesanggaran, Pastika added.
"The President was very happy to see children taking part in the parade. For him, it meant Bali will not be short of artists," he noted.
The head of the cultural service of the Bali province, Dewa Putu Beratha, pointed out that the float from Gianyar was chosen for President Jokowi because it was considered the most representative.
Actually, the Gianyar group should have been in the seventh line but was positioned at the end so that the President could see all the delegations.
"It was done on the request of the President. The plea came just a day before. If we had known a week earlier, we could have certainly prepared a special vehicle," Dewa Beratha observed.
ANTARA
