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Indonesian Independence Day

Indonesia's 63rd Independence Day

The Indonesian declaration of independence was officially proclaimed at 10.00 a.m. on Friday, August 17, 1945, by our first president, Soekarno. Today, August 17, 2008, Indonesia my beloved country, celebrates the 63rd independence day. The official theme from the government was (sorry, I did not translate it in English to avoid wrong interpretation):

Dengan Semangat Proklamasi 17 Agustus 1945, Kita Lanjutkan Pembangunan Ekonomi Menuju Peningkatan Kesejahteraan Rakyat, serta Kita Perkuat Ketahanan Nasional Menghadapi Tantangan Global.

The good news at this celebration moment was the country's poverty rate has decreased from 17.7 percent in 2006 to 15.4 percent in March 2008. This was the lowest poverty figure during the last 10 years.

If you was here, you may see various unique races to celebrate it, like: Lomba Panjat Pinang (pinang climbing competition), Lomba Lari Karung (sack running competition), Lomba Makan Kerupuk (cracker eating competition), etc. The neighborhood association coordinate special activities and may request donations from each family to sponsor the games and prizes. I think this was good activity to strengthen relations between the neighbors. This was my little effort as a blogger to celebrate our country's Independence Day.

Pinang climbing competition.

Sack running competition.

Cracker eating competition.

Other funny games.

Comments

  1. MERDEKA!!!!!!!! more articles from Indonesia in English, visit http://www.expectindo.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous19/8/08

    Reducing poverty from 17.7 to 15.4% is remarkable achievement. I hope that you will reduce it further every year as, from all accounts, Indonesia is on the right track as far as economics is concerned.

    ReplyDelete
  3. To : Rummuser
    I hope so. I hope poverty's figure will also decrease on another country. Thanks for your comment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. To: Chubskulit
    I think not only for me, it's for all people. Thanks for your comment

    ReplyDelete

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