A Year Of Government, Prabowo Kertanegara's House Is Flooded With Criticism Through Karangan Bunga Regarding Cigarettes

Floods of wreaths at Prabowo Subianto's residence (DOK Nailin/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Save Our Surrounding Community (SOS) sent a number of bouquets of flowers to President Prabowo Subianto's private house on Jalan Kertanegara, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta on Tuesday, October 21.

The action with the one-year marker of the Prabowo 'Gibran government is not a congratulatory, but rather a criticism of the low price of cigarettes and the stagnation of the implementation of tobacco control policies in PP 28 of 2024.

In observations at the location, it appears that writing on flower bouquets such as basic necessities is getting more expensive, cigarettes are cheaper and people need nutrition, not cigarettes, and also voice demands that the government enforce Tobacco Product Excise (CHT) policies and other consumption control policies that favor people's health.

PKJS-UI chairman Aryana Satrya said this wreath was a satire for the stagnation of a number of tobacco control policies such as the increase in cigarette excise and the delay in the implementation of Government Regulation Number 28 of 2024 concerning health because the technical rules that have not been ratified.

"From a fiscal point of view, we highlight cheap, both legal and illegal, making smokers unable to put the brakes on cigarette addiction. That makes many families lose their income for basic necessities such as food and education. So it should not only be illegal cigarettes that are eradicated but also legal cigarettes should be made as expensive as possible," Aryana told reporters in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 21.

"So smokers limit their cigarettes, thank God they can wake up and stop smoking, and use their money to buy nutritious food or other basic necessities", he continued.

According to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey, the number of child smokers in Indonesia has reached more than 5.9 million people. The low price of cigarettes is one of the main factors in high consumption from an early age.

Research by CISDI 2023 found that teenagers can still buy cigarettes at kiosks near schools at very affordable prices. The habit of buying cigarettes repeatedly makes teenagers end up spending between Rp. 30,000 to Rp. 200,000 per week, which is equivalent to half the monthly expenditure per capita, the average population of Indonesia (CISDI, 2023).

In fact, a survey by the University of Indonesia's Center for Social Security Studies (PKJS-UI) shows that 74 percent of smokers say they will quit smoking if the price of cigarettes reaches Rp. 70,000 per pack. This finding strengthens evidence that price policies play an important role in controlling tobacco consumption and protecting the younger generation from the risk of addiction from an early age.

Aryana said that one year of government should be a momentum to review the direction of public policy, including implementing derivative rules from PP 28 of 2024. This Government Regulation prohibits advertising, promotion, sponsorship, and selling retail cigarettes, but more than a year since they were passed, the implementation has not been seen.

The representative of the SOS community, Tulus Abadi, emphasized that the Government under the command of President Prabowo has an important opportunity to reverse course by ensuring that there are no conflicts of interest in his cabinet, especially among institutions that should protect the people, not serve the industry.

"The steps taken by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health, which are subject to industrial pressure, are only deepening public disappointment. The government should make this second year of office a turning point, namely by upholding political courage to put health above the economic interests of the short term," he stressed.