“Open House” in the SBY Era, From Asking for Children’s Names to Hoping for Envelopes (6)

During his two terms in office, the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, made the open house or opening of the doors of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta during Lebaran a routine event. In this event where the head of state meets his people, various unique stories emerged. Starting from asking for the name of a child, complaining, to expecting an envelope from the number one person in this republic.

The first open house moment of the figure popularly known as SBY occurred on November 14, 2004. The elite consisting of ministers, members of the DPR, and DPD, ambassadors, retired generals and former officials were given the opportunity from morning to afternoon. Afternoon to night, it was the turn of the “wong cilik” to get the chance to shake hands directly with the head of state.

As reported by Kompas (11/17/2004), the later it got, the longer the queue of residents became. Thousands of residents looked enthusiastic even though they had to jostle each other while queuing. Their desire did not seem to diminish even though the new clothes they were wearing were soaked in sweat because of the hot sun. They were willing to do all of this because of the residents' curiosity about the head of state who seemed so far from their reach.

"I want to shake hands directly with Mr. SBY. All this time, I have only seen him on TV. Mr. SBY seems to be kind to the people," said Aisyah (37), a resident of Manggarai, Central Jakarta, who came with eight members of her family.

Among the thousands of residents, there were some who did not merely want to shake hands. Rika (21), a resident of Bekasi, had a different purpose for her visit that time. She wanted to remind Kristiani Herawati, the wife of SBY, of a promise she had made to give a name for her newborn child after casting her vote for SBY in the 2004 General Election, held on September 20, 2004.

"I went to the palace to ask for a name for my child. Earlier, when we met at the Istiqlal Mosque, Mrs. SBY promised to give a name for my child who was born after I voted for Mr. SBY on September 20," said Rika.

At that time, Rika's newborn child had already been named Muhammad Sakti Irawan. However, she did not mind changing the name she had given if the First Lady were to provide a new name.

"Mrs. SBY said my child's name is already good. However, if given a new name, I will change my child's name," said Rika.

Not only asking for the child's name, Dihran (74), a street vendor at Senen Market, came to the President's open house just to wish him a happy Eid. Since the person he was going to meet had great power, he actually also intended to convey his complaints. That moment occurred during the Eid celebration on October 24, 2006.

To SBY, Dihran wanted to ask about the operations to regulate street vendors, which at the time were frequently conducted by the government. His opportunity to meet face-to-face only came after waiting in line for about three hours. Unfortunately, he could not say much. He tried to understand how exhausted SBY must have been after meeting so many people since the morning during that annual gathering event.

"Have been waiting for three hours, only shook hands. Only met SBY for a few seconds. When we talked, he only smiled back or said thank you," said Dihran, Kompas (10/26/2006).

Not only did SBY extend his hand to be shaken by the people, but he also allocated a sum of money to be distributed to some residents as a Lebaran "bonus." The amounts varied, ranging from Rp 200,000, Rp 250,000, to Rp 500,000 per person.

Usually, the money wrapped in the envelope is given to people with disabilities. Therefore, there are always some residents who come to the "open house" in the hope of getting the bonus. The giving is done when the event is held either at the State Palace or SBY's private residence in Cikeas.

"It is just a token of love as a form of attention from Mr. SBY's family to them. So please don't look at the nominal value," said Presidential Spokesperson Julian Aldrin Pasha, at that time.

Unfortunately, SBY's good intentions did not always end well. Once, the open house ended in disaster during Lebaran on September 10, 2010. The tragic incident befell a blind man named Joni Malela. He breathed his last after having queued and jostled to do halalbihalal with SBY at the State Palace.

It so happened that Eid fell on a Friday that year. That day, Joni went to the State Palace, with his wife, Euis, in the hope of getting pocket money from the head of state, like the year before.

The husband and wife arrived at the State Palace at 09.30 WIB. It turned out that until 15.00 WIB, the two were still standing huddled together in the heat, hungry, and thirsty, along with hundreds of other blind people. This situation caused Joni and several other residents to fall.

Standing not far from the gate, Joni initially wanted to retreat to the back row. However, he fell instead. Not only that, he was pushed here and there before being rescued by officers. In fact, Joni was helped with an oxygen tank. However, his life could not be saved.

"Honestly, our hope to go to the palace is because we want to get Rp 250,000 like last year," said Larima, Joni's fellow blind masseuse. (Kompas, 13/9/2010).