Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik has praised the Idul Fitri gathering at the State Palace held by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, saying that it showed "the spirit of openness."
"I came and joined the celebration at the palace. It is a lovely spirit of openness at the end of the bulan puasa [fasting month]," Malik said at the State Palace on Sunday.
Like Jokowi, Malik also attended the Ied prayer at the Istiqlal Mosque in the morning and listened to the sermon delivered by prominent cleric Quraish Shihab.
"It [the sermon] was a very well-judged, very well-taught and a very great message for our time," he said, adding that sermon embraced the message for peace.
It was Jokowi's first Idul Fitri celebration and open house at the State Palace since taking office in 2014. He previously spent Idul Fitri in Aceh in 2015 and West Sumatra in 2016. (tas)