President ianugurates N. Kayong grand mosque

North Kayong, NU Online
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the North Kayong Grand Mosque on Saturday during his visit to West Kalimantan to attend the peak event of Sail Karimata.

Jokowi inaugurated the Oesman Al Khair grand mosque by signing an inscription.

After signing the inscription, President Jokowi stepped into the mosque along with his entourage. The mosque has been built with Rp38 billion worth of funds.

"This is a beautiful floating mosque with the sea in the background," Jokowi was quoted by Antara news agency as saying  after a tour of the mosque.

Also present during the inauguration ceremony were Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Vice Chairman of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Oesman Sapta, Vice Chairman of the MPRF Hidayat Nur Wahid, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Agung.

The inauguration of the Grand Mosque was on the Jokowis agenda during his North Kayong visit. He will also inaugurate the peak event of Sail Karimata 2016.

The Sail Karimata event will feature a number of activities including planting seeds in the coastal areas of West Kalimantan.

On the occasion, President Jokowi also planted a Pontianak orange tree, one of West Kalimantans superior commodity trees, in North Kayong District, in Sutera Vilage, Sukadana Subdistrict, Datok Islands, West Kalimtan province.

A number of officials also planted other trees.

Oesman Sapta planted a Sukadana durian tree, which was the mascot of the North Koyang District.

Before the tree planting, President Jokowi witnessed various activities highlighting Sail Karimata 2016. These included a Medevac (Medical Evacuation Air) airshow put up by the Navy and a yacht sailing pass by nine countries.

There was also a skydiving demonstration, Helicopter Bolco maneuver flying the Karimata Sail 2016 banner, and a colorful dance that brought together thousands of students from the District of North Kayong.

The Deputy for Human Resources, Science and Culture of the Maritime Affairs Ministry, Safri Burhanuddin, hoped that Sail Karimata 2016 would speed up development in the region around the Karimata Strait, especially North Kayong.

"We want to work together, involving the central and the local governments, as we promote travel and the excellent products. We hope that the four provinces involved in Sail Karimata Strait activities could be further developed," he remarked.

The Sail Karimata 2016 activities involved the provinces of Riau Islands, Jambi, Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan.

Other related activities included an exhibition of products from the coastal areas, Nusantara Jaya sailing, culinary festivals, dragon boat competition, development of a fishermen information center and a weave design contest. (Masdar)