Indonesian community gathered early morning on Thursday (17/8) at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and the residence of Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah to participate in a flag-raising ceremony in commemoration of the 72nd Anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence.

The proceeding started with raising Indonesia’s national red and white flag carried out by ‘Paskibraka’ or a flag-hoisting squad from the students of Indonesian school in Jeddah.

The squad consists of 27 members who have been selected and trained a few months ahead of the ceremony.

The slowly and carefully raised national flag was accompanied by the Indonesian national anthem sung by all participants of the ceremony, followed by observing a moment of silence in remembrance of the fallen heroes and martyrs who died in the struggled for the freedom of Indonesia.

In Jeddah, Consul General Mohamad Hery Saripudin, who presided over the ceremony, read out the state ideology Pancasila, while the principal of Indonesian School of Jeddah Sugiono acted as commander in the flag-raising ceremony.

The text of the proclamation of Indonesia’s independence on Aug.17, 1945 and the preamble of the 1945 Constitution were also read out during the ceremony.

The ceremony commenced at 5:45 a.m. in the presence of the Consulate’s staff and spouses, teachers and students from Indonesian schools of Jeddah as well as prominent members of the Indonesian community.

In this auspicious occasion, the Consul General stressed that the 72nd anniversary of Independence Day of Indonesia should be a momentum for all components of the nation to continue working and building the nation.

In line with this year’s theme of the 72nd anniversary of the independence day of Republic of Indonesia, which is “Indonesia Works Together”, the Consul General called on all Indonesian compatriots living and working in the Kingdom to hold on to the spirit of togetherness and mutual cooperation.

“The spirit of mutual cooperation is the root of our culture as the embodiment of harmony, togetherness that has become social glue regardless of race, ethnicity and religion,” he said

The 45-minute-long ceremony ended with a series of patriotic songs presented by a group of Indonesian school students.