Visiting Kampoeng Djadhoel, Mayor Agustina Calls Puan Maharani's Presence Gives Positive Energy

Puan Maharani and Semarang Mayor Agutina Wilujeng visited Kampoeng Djadhoel, Semarang. (IST)

Semarang - Mayor of Semarang, Agustina Wilujeng with the deputy mayor, Iswar Aminuddin and several OPD heads, Saturday (29/11) afternoon held a dialogue with the Chairman of the Indonesian Parliament Puan Maharani while visiting Kampoeng Djadhoel in the Kampung Batik area which is a traditional batik center in Rejomulyo Village, East Semarang District.

Puan's presence is said to be a strengthening for efforts to preserve Batik Village as an important part of the cultural history of Semarang.

In her speech, Puan Maharani emphasized the importance of maintaining the authenticity and uniqueness of Kampoeng Djadhoel, not only in batik, but also in traditional culinary and daily culture of its citizens.

He shared his experience of seeing firsthand the process of making market snacks and trying out various local culinary delights that he thought were difficult to find in big cities like Jakarta. I asked how to make market snacks, how orders come, how much is the price. That's something that in Jakarta is not easy to find," said Puan.

Puan also highlighted the uniqueness of products made from residents' garden ingredients, including traditional fried foods directly processed by the maker. For him, simple things such as the aroma of fried brambang are unique things that should be promoted.

"Bau brmbang is fried very well. In Jakarta, no one fry themselves like that, mostly buying in stores. So things like this should be promoted," he said.

Puan hopes that the cultural, culinary, and handicraft strengths that are still alive in Kampoeng Djadhoel can continue to be developed, while improving the economy of the people in the area. This is a village that must be preserved. This peculiarity is not present elsewhere," he said.

On this occasion, the Mayor of Semarang, Agustina Wilujeng said that Kampoeng Djadhoel's progress could only be realized through the participation of residents. For this reason, his party provides challenges or challenges involving the community, village officials, to local MSME actors.

"My hope is that Mbak Puan can see that Kampoeng Djadhoel is progressing. The trick is with the participation of the community," he said.

He announced the competition for making promotional content for Kampoeng Djadhoel, which is open to all residents of Rejomulyo Village. "It is enough for participants to upload photos or videos with the theme Kampoeng Djadhoel and publish them on social media. The main thing is that the KTP of Rejomulyo Village may participate," said Agustina.

Participants were asked to link the hashtags #KampoengDjadhoel, #PemkotSemarang, and #DisbudparSemarang, as well as mark the official mayor's account. The time of the competition has only been one week since it was announced.

In addition to the competition, Mayor Agustina also asked the sub-district and local village heads to coordinate efforts to improve the Kampoeng Djadhoel environment to make it more feasible to be promoted.

"If the photo is good. It's old age, but don't dull it. Maybe some haven't been corrected for too long," he said.

He provided space for residents to participate in proposing improvements, as well as ensuring budget support continues, including Rp25 million in funds for RT which he said would be returned next year.

Closing the remarks, the Mayor expressed his gratitude to the Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, who had visited and provided positive energy for Kampoeng Djadhoel residents.

"Mbak Puan, thank you very much. The spirit of being here gives extraordinary blessings. Hopefully Kampoeng Djadhoel will be more crowded and the people will love his village more," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor of Semarang Iswar Aminuddin expressed his appreciation for Puan's attention to the historic village. According to him, the visit was a moral support for the local community to continue to maintain the production of Semarang batik.

Thank you to Mbak Puan for visiting Kampoeng Djadhoel. His presence will strengthen Kampoeng Djadhoel's position as Batik Village in Semarang City," said Iswar after accompanying the visit.

Iswar explained that Kampoeng Djadhoel had a long history since the colonial era as a area for Semarang batik craftsmen. The Semarang City Government, he said, is trying to gradually improve the area through a number of structuring projects by the Housing and Settlement Areas Service (Disperkim) in the 2025 fiscal year.

One of the ongoing efforts is the construction of a workshop house for the people of Kampoeng Djadhoel. The facility is prepared as a learning room and regeneration of batik craftsmen for the young people of Semarang City.

"The goal is for Semarang City children to keep Kampoeng Djadhoel as a batik village. The workshop is being built and hopefully by the end of December it can be used," concluded Iswar. (ADV)