She stood beside Indonesia's first Vice President. A century later, her family is marrying off strangers in her name. 

On September 5, 2026, 40 couples who couldn't otherwise afford a legal wedding got married on the same night, at the same venue, under the same roof as a fashion show built entirely out of one woman's old wardrobe. That's not a coincidence. It's the whole point.

At a glance

• 100 years since Rahmi Hatta's birth, marked July–September 2026
• 40 couples married in the "Ikatan Cinta" mass wedding
• 1 venue for the finale: Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, September 5, 2026
• 3 months of programming, opening July 1 at the National Library of Indonesia

Credit : Thesmedia

What Is the Rahmi Hatta Centennial Celebration?

The Rahmi Hatta Centennial is a three-month series of events organized by Yayasan Meutia Hatta Swasono to mark 100 years since the birth of Rahmi Hatta, wife of Mohammad Hatta  Indonesia's independence proclamator and first Vice President. Running from July to September 2026 in Jakarta, it combined a talk show, a theatrical fashion performance, and a mass wedding for 40 economically disadvantaged couples, all built around the values the foundation says defined her: simplicity, humility, and care for ordinary people.

Credit : Thesmedia

Who Was Rahmi Hatta, and Why a Fashion Show?

The centerpiece was "RUMAH," a fashion performance art piece directed by veteran theater figure Wawan Sofwan. It used Rahmi Hatta's actual personal clothing collection, worn on stage by the Top 4 finalists of Puteri Indonesia and Abang None Jakarta Barat, as the literal fabric of her biography. Her garments weren't styled as costume pieces. They were treated as artifacts  physical evidence of a life lived alongside one of the country's founding figures.

The performance folded theater, music, and dance around the idea of "rumah" (home) as the place where values get passed down. Musicians spanning generations  Iwan Fals, Isyana Sarasvati, Vicky Mono, Aqi Singgih, and Audrey  performed alongside monologues delivered by actresses Maudy Koesnaedi and Prilly Latuconsina. The room, a converted indoor tennis arena, held the layered sound of a live band, a hushed monologue, and a runway all at once.

How Did the Mass Wedding Work?

"Ikatan Cinta" brought 40 couples through a joint marriage procession, witnessed by Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Muhammad Syafi'i. The event wasn't just ceremonial  it addressed a real administrative gap, since many Indonesian couples face financial or bureaucratic barriers to registering a marriage legally, which affects the legal status of children born from those unions.

"This isn't just a celebration of Rahmi Hatta's 100th birthday. We want to turn this moment into a chance to carry on her compassion for the community  including through a mass wedding, because many people still face social and economic obstacles to getting legally married," said Fajrin Saadi, the event's chief organizer.

Alongside the wedding, the foundation ran a blood donation drive, free passport services, and space for small business owners to sell their products  turning a heritage event into a day of practical public service.

Why Does This Matter Today?

Meutia Hatta, Rahmi and Mohammad Hatta's eldest daughter and head of the foundation, said the centennial isn't a static tribute but a call to continue her mother's example. She described the wedding as proof that the family's sense of duty to ordinary Indonesians  rooted in her father's own legacy of public service  is still active, not archived.

The foundation says this won't be a one-off. More social programs, including legal support for couples navigating marriage registration, are reportedly in development as an extension of the centennial's momentum.