Oded M. Danial, the mayor of the West Java capital of Bandung, passed away this afternoon. He was 59 years old.
Oded reportedly collapsed while he was praying, before he was about to deliver a Friday prayer sermon at a mosque in the city. He was immediately transported to the Muhammadiyah Hospital and arrived at around 11:45am.
The hospital’s director, Kautsar Boesoirie, said Oded was dead upon arrival, with his pupils dilated and no pulse detected.
At the time of writing, his cause of death has yet to be officially announced, though Muhammadiyah Hospital suspects that the mayor died from a heart attack.
Born in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Oded was a city councilor before serving as Bandung deputy mayor to Ridwan Kamil from 2013-2018. Oded then assumed Ridwan’s post as the mayor from 2018 when the latter was elected as West Java governor. His term as mayor was supposed to end in 2023.
Ridwan has taken to Instagram to express his grief, referring to Oded as his “best friend.”
“We were together for five years through the ups and downs of building Bandung, I truly testify of the piety and noble character of the deceased. An example to us all,” Ridwan wrote.
“Pileuleuyan (So long), Mang Oded. Prayers from us all.”
