President Jokowi: Batik is Our Visage, Honor

President Jokowi opens Gelar Batik Nusantara at Senayan Park in Jakarta, Wednesday (08/02). (Photo by: PR of Cabinet Secretariat/Jay)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Wednesday (08/02) officially opened Gelar Batik Nusantara, a biennial batik exhibition, at Senayan Park in Jakarta.

“Batik is very special, not only because of its beauty but also its philosophical meanings. Batik is our visage. Batik is our honor,” he said, adding that batik industry has created many jobs and boosted national economic growth.

“Through batik, so many jobs have been created. Millions of people work in our batik industry and [it] gives income and livelihood to millions of our people who work in this sector,” he said.

The President expressed optimism that now is the right moment for batik to rise up as the national post-pandemic economy grows well.

“We hope next year our economic growth will be more robust. Also, many national and international events are carried out, like the one carried out today, Gelar Batik Nusantara,” he said.

On that occasion, the President also thanked the people who have preserved batik as the culture of Indonesia.

“I would like to express my sincerest thanks to batik craftspeople, to batiks designer, to batik businesspeople, to batik lovers, to batik users who have continued and who have created and produced and used batik as a high culture of the people of Indonesia,” he said.

The President also called on all batik enthusiasts to develop batik industry by continuing to make innovation in batik patterns to produce batik that is more varied and interesting.

“I am calling on all craftspeople, designers, businesspeople, batik lovers, and all Indonesian people to make the most of the moment of our economic resurgence to continue developingbatik that we have by exploring new designs, patterns, and colors each year so that batik becomes more varied and interesting,” he remarked. (TGH/UN) (DH/RAS)