Indonesian sculptor Nyoman Nuarta has received the 2018 Padma Shri Award from Indian President Shri Ram Nath Kovind.
According to a press release from the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi on April 4, the award was given in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the vice president of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, were also present at the ceremony.
According to Antara, Nyoman Nuarta is one of the pioneers of Indonesian New Art. His works include the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue in Bandung and Bali, the Jalesveva Jayamahe Monument in Surabaya and Proclamation Monument in Jakarta.
Padma Shri is among the highest civilian honors in India. Its recipients are announced annually on India’s Republic Day ceremony.
The Padma Awards honor people for their distinguished contributions to various fields and science that involve public service.
Together with Nyoman Nuarta, there were 9 other awardees from each ASEAN country who received the same award and they are:
1. Professor Koh, Cambodia's youngest parliamentarian Hun Many and Myanmar historian Thant Myint-U for the field of public affairs.
2. Malai Haji Abdullah Malai Haji Othman, the founder of the Society for Management of Autism Related Issues in Training, Education and Resources of Brunei, was cited for his work in the field of medicine
3. Malaysian classical dancer Ramli Ibrahim and Bounlap Keokangna of Laos, the deputy director of Vat Phou World Heritage Site, were cited for their contribution to the arts
4. Philippine businessman Jose Ma Joey Concepcion III was cited for his work in trade and industry.
5. Somdet Phra Ariya Wongsa Khottayan - the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
6. Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Thien, the Secretary-General of the National Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.
7. Also, Prof Koh, 80, who has served as Singapore's ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, and as president of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) in 1981 and 1982.
Source : The Jakarta Post and The Straits Times
