Residents Spread Shrouds With The Inscription 'Reduce Cooking Oil Prices', Kasetpres: That's Natural, Aspirations

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JAKARTA - Head of the Presidential Secretariat Heru Budi Hartono assessed that residents displaying banners reading "lower cooking oil prices" and demonstrations when President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) made a working visit to Jambi were common.

Heru said that the action was a form of aspiration conveyed by the community to respond to issues that were developing at this time.

"While the President was on a working visit to Jambi, we did receive information from the Regional Police that there were several people and students demonstrating and that was natural, an aspiration," said Heru in a written statement to reporters, Thursday, April 7.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of rising cooking oil prices, Heru said that the government is currently trying to do a number of things to reduce the burden on residents. This includes providing direct cash assistance (BLT) for cooking oil.

"The President also visited Jambi in order to provide direct BLT, cooking oil assistance to PKH families from the Minister of Social Affairs. And the President also helped from the president's own assistance and provided cooking oil assistance to street vendors in two market locations," he said.

"And in general, the matter of cooking oil has been handled by the relevant ministries and monitored by the National Police task force," added Heru.

As previously reported, a Jambi resident who is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Indonesian Rescue Action Coalition (KAMI), Muhammad Usman, was detained by TNI and Paspampres personnel while unfurling a white cloth which turned out to be a shroud that read, 'Pak Jokowi, please lower the price of cooking oil'.

This incident occurred when President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his entourage finished visiting the Bedug Market in Jambi City today, Thursday, April 7.

In the video that circulated, Usman was seen spreading a cloth which was later seized by the TNI and Paspampres. He admitted that this spontaneous action was carried out so that the message was conveyed directly.

"We decided to take a solo action to get closer to Jokowi so that our message can be conveyed. We prepared a white cloth, a shroud that we wrote with markers. It said 'Pak Jokowi, please lower the price of cooking oil,'" Usman told reporters, Thursday. , April 7th.

Usman said he came to the Bedug Market at around 12.30 WIB. At that time, President Jokowi was providing direct cash assistance (BLT) for cooking oil to residents.

However, he was restrained by Paspampres. Shortly before Jokowi left the location at 13.15 WIB, then Usman carried out his action by spreading the white cloth that had been prepared.

"Not long ago, the cloth was taken away by TNI members. Then a number of other TNI members immediately confronted me, then ganged up on me," he said.