Viral Video Paspampres Pulls The Arm Of The Regent Of North Bengkulu, This Is The Palace's Explanation

President Joko Widodo's (ANTARA) visit

The video showing a member of the Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres) pulling the arm of the Regent of North Bengkulu, Mian during President Joko Widodo's visit there went viral on social media. Deputy for Protocol, Press and Media of the Presidential Secretariat Bey Machmudin explained that the incident was caused by the Regent of Mian accidentally obstructing the movement of First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo.

"The efforts made by Paspampres were carried out because the Regent of Mian accidentally blocked the movement of First Lady Iriana, which was running behind him," explained Bey, quoted from ANTARA, Sunday, July 23.

Previously, a video circulated of a Paspampres member pulling the arm of the North Bengkulu Regent, Mian, to keep a distance from President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana.

The incident occurred at Purwodadi Market, Arga Makmur District, North Bengkulu Regency, Friday, July 21, 2023, when the Regent of North Bengkulu, Mian accompanied President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana to visit the market.

According to Bey, a Paspampres reflexively pulled the arm of the North Bengkulu Regent to maintain a distance so as not to endanger the steps taken by the President and First Lady who are being surrounded by the community.

Bey revealed that what Paspampres actually did was interesting and then embraced and whispered to the Regent that his move accidentally almost hit Ibu Iriana.

"The moment when the Regent was embraced was not caught on camera, so what appeared only when Paspampres looked like it forced him to keep his distance," said Bey.

On the other hand, according to Bey, the Regent of North Bengkulu actually expressed his gratitude for the alertness of the Paspampres to withdraw himself so that he actually guaranteed not to hit the First Lady because of the urgency of the crowd.