Jakarta - A book to celebrate the friendship between the people of Singapore and Indonesia was launched during a Singapore National Day celebration in Jakarta on Thursday evening.
Titled ‘Gotong Royong‘, which means ‘mutual cooperation‘ in Bahasa Indonesia, the book chronicles the ties between the two nations through the eyes of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), volunteers and government officials.
It also tells the story of Singapore International Foundation‘s collaboration with diverse communities in Indonesia over the past 15 years.
A copy was presented to Indonesia‘s Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda by Singapore‘s Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Ashok Mirpuri.
Some 1,000 guests who attended the celebration also received a copy of the book.
Peggy Kek, Acting Executive Director of Singapore International Foundation, said: ‘I think the most wonderful thing is the friendship. Of course, along the way, we have managed to do some good. We‘ve helped children learn English; we‘ve helped doctors to learn more about dermatology or do surgeries in a different way.
‘But at the end of the day, I think it‘s the different people-to-people links that we‘ve made with the people of Indonesia that‘s the most important thing.‘
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com (13 Agustus 2007)