Considered To Segregate Residents Of Purwokerto, Food Cooking Oil Discounts For Customers Of Aifa Mart Shops Named Muhammad And Maria Were Lowered

Satpol PP officers lowered the baner installed in West Purwokerto District, Banyumas, Thursday 7 July. (ANTARA/HO-Aifa Mart)

JAKARTA - The Banyumas Regency Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) forcibly lowered a number of promotional media in the form of a banner belonging to a modern shop in Purwokerto. The promotion allegedly caused unrest among residents.

Head of Banyumas Regency Satpol PP Setia Rahendra said the promotion in the baner contained discounts on the purchase of cooking oil at the Aifa Mart shop for people named Muhammad and Maria or Maryam.

"I received a report from residents that there was a banner or banner containing a discount on the purchase of cooking oil from the Aifa Mart store as long as the buyer was named Muhammad and Maria or Maryam," said Setia in Purwokerto, Banyumas, Thursday, July 7.

Because he was worried that the promotional media would have an impact on religious resistance, he continued, his party immediately carried out control by lowering a number of tires installed in the West Purwokerto sub-district.

In addition, his party also asked for information from the management of Aifa Mart as the maker of the promotional media.

"Ini masih dalam proses penyelidikan, saya koordinasikan dengan Kesbangpol, Majelis Ulama Indonesia, FKUB, Kemenag maupun instansi lain, nanti langkah-langkah yang harus kami lakukan seperti apa," tuturnya.

On a separate occasion, representative of management of Aifa Mart Agung Zaky Pradika said that the material in the promotional media in question was actually inspired by the Jogokariyan Mosque, Yogyakarta which gave gifts to the owners of the names Muhammad and Maryam whose Fajr prayers were congregational at the mosque.

According to him, what the Jogokariyan Mosque did inspired Aifa Mart's management to give appreciation to people who have the names Muhammad and Maria or Maryam.

"Before this promo was launched, we had coordinated with several linguists, academics, and all kinds of Unsoed (General Sudirman Purwokerto University)," he said again.

He said his party was also coordinating with people with the names Muhammad, Maria, and Maryam to find out what their responses were like.

According to him, all parties invited to coordinate, especially the owners of Muhammad's name, Maria and Maryam, welcomed the promo material.

"So, we have no intention of harassing or anything, nothing. We actually want to give appreciation," said Brili asserted.

He said the appreciation was in the form of giving special prices to the owners of the names of Muhammad and Maryam or Maria who bought cooking oil at Aifa Mart on July 8, 2022.

In this case, he said, simple bottled cooking oil without a brand commonly sold in the range of Rp. 14,000 per liter could be redeemed at a price of Rp. 12,900.

"We are ready to lose money to give appreciation to the owners of these names," he asserted.

Regarding the decline in promotional media by Banyumas Regency Satpol PP personnel, Brili admitted that he had met personnel from the West Purwokerto Police, Satpol PP, and Pasir Muncang Village to explain the actual promotional materials.

After receiving the explanation, representatives of these agencies understood and understood the purpose of the material in the promotional media, so that they were not asked to reduce everything.

"In fact, we asked for the promotional media that had been lowered to be re-installed because we had already paid the billboard tax," he said.