Coastal People Of Pantura Are Often Haunted By Rob Flood Threats, Prabowo: Accelerate Giant Sea Wall Development

Prabowo Subianto. (Photo: Aris Nurjani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Defense (Menhan) Prabowo Subianto expressed his concern regarding the fate of people on the coast of Pantura Java who often experience tidal flooding.

This condition also causes land subsidence or land degradation to continue in the region every year.

"The quality of life of some of our people who are very pathetic and inhumane should not be called normal and tolerated for the next 10 years to 15 years," he said while attending a protection strategy event for the Java Island area through the construction of a coastal embankment and sea wall in the grand ballroom kempinski, Wednesday, January 10.

Prabowo admitted that he did not want the fate of 50 million residents on the North Coast (Pantura) of Java to be at stake due to the threat of erosion, abrasion, flooding, land subsidence/Land Subsidence.

"I feel compelled to focus more on Giant Sea Wall. We must gather the nation's best brains, immediately we accelerate the development of Giant Sea Wall to save the Indonesian nation, especially the 50 million people who live in Pantura Java," he said.

According to him, the condition of the people on the coast of Pantura is quite paying attention.

"I've campaigned and visited the area there, from 2014 until now I've seen these families living in bedrooms, dining rooms, knee-high water. Their children live in the middle of water, in the middle of flies, mosquitoes, and garbage. This makes me ask myself, what can I do to change it immediately. Not in the future, but soon," he said.

Prabowo said that the construction of Giant Sea Wall is a serious and important problem where the project can be a solution or answer to the incident.

As an official, Prabowo admitted that he played a role in overcoming rising sea water in Pantura Java as one of the political leaders of the Indonesian government.

"Frankly, not my capacity as Minister of Defense, but my capacity as a political leader. Every few years I campaign, and visit those areas," said Prabowo.

Prabowo said that he as a political leader must immediately make changes to the current conditions.

"Because we cannot accept this at all as a Pancasila country, as a G20 country, as an ASEAN leader, as we hope to become a non-block southern leader. We shouldn't accept this," he said.

For this reason, Prabowo invites ministers in the Advanced Indonesia cabinet to intervene and move to overcome this.

"So I invite my colleagues in the Indonesia Maju cabinet, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, especially the Minister of SOEs and several other leaders and we agree that we are bringing back the idea of Giant Sea Wall to the focus of attention," he explained.

In addition, Prabowo instructed the defense university to conduct studies and observations of the problem.

"Many things have been studied, ranging from giant embankments to several floating house options. So I assign the Defense University to conduct a study on what to do and what to do immediately," he concluded.