Deny Resigning because of Illness, Pratikno Leads Bromo Karhutla Handling

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Pratikno

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Pratikno denied the news that he would resign from the Red and White Cabinet for health reasons.

Pratikno emphasized that he was still carrying out his duties as President Prabowo Subianto's assistant. In fact, he went down directly to lead a coordination meeting to accelerate the fire extinguishing of forest and land fires (karhutla) in the Bromo Mountain area, East Java, Tuesday, August 11.

"No (sick), I won't resign. I'm still on duty. I'm still on duty," said Pratikno Tuesday afternoon.

Pratikno said he left Jakarta for Malang around 06.30 WIB before continuing his land journey to the Bromo Mountain area. His presence at the location was to lead the coordination of accelerating the handling of the fire that was still occurring in the area.

"This morning, at 06.30 WIB, I left for Malang, then to Bromo. We held a coordination meeting to accelerate the fire extinguishing in Bromo," he said.

According to Pratikno, there were 36 fire points that had appeared in the Bromo area. Currently, there are still two fire points that require immediate handling.

"There are indeed 36 fire points, yes, the peak of the last one. This one, there are still two fire points, fire points. There are two fire points, so we still maintain it for BNPB water bombing assistance," he said.

In addition to accelerating the blackout, the government is also preparing anticipatory steps so that the fire does not spread again. One of the efforts being considered is weather modification operations (OMC).

However, Pratikno explained that OMC could not be carried out in the Bromo area because the current weather conditions were not supportive. The operation requires the presence of clouds that can be modified to produce rain.

"Yes, the problem in Bromo right now is that there are no clouds so it is difficult to be able to do OMC. We estimate that if it is in accordance with the forecast, there will be clouds for four days to be able to OMC," he said.

Previously, the Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi also denied the news that Pratikno would resign from the position of Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs.

Prasetyo emphasized that Pratikno was still carrying out his duties and in good health. He also said there was no information about Pratikno's resignation from the Red and White Cabinet.

"I haven't heard. All I know (Pratikno) is healthy," said Prasetyo at the Merdeka Palace.

When asked again about the certainty of Pratikno's position, Prasetyo emphasized that there was no information about resignation or health conditions that were the reason for leaving the cabinet.

"There is no news that he is sick. He did not resign. There is none," he said.