Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has invited presidential palace staff to celebrate Eid al-Fitr festivities with their families, and has urged that only a limited number of people accompany him during the holidays.”This year, there are no PPKM (restrictions on community activities), so the president hopes that employees would use this year’s opportunity to gather with their families. Those who want to go home, please do,” said Bey Machmudin, Deputy for Press, Media, and Information at the Secretariat of President, on Thursday.

Jokowi is scheduled to celebrate Eid in Surakarta City, Central Java, with the first lady, his children, in-laws, and grandchildren. He is currently in Surakarta.

Machmudin explained that the president was not accompanied by Minister of State Secretary Pratikno and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung during his visit to Surakarta. Both ministers usually accompanied the president when he was out of town.

Despite being on leave with his family in Surakarta, Jokowi will still monitor and receive reports from ministers regarding the Eid homecoming.

“The cabinet secretary and minister of state secretary are also with their respective families,” Machmudin stated.

This year is the first time that homecoming is allowed after the PPKM restrictions were lifted.

The government estimates that the number of travelers will increase by 45 percent to 123 million in Eid 2023, compared to 86 million travelers in 2022.

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Source: Antara News Agency