Papanggo Residents Send Regards to Minister of Social Affairs for President Jokowi

JAKARTA (May 18, 2020) - Residents of Papanggo Urban Village, Tanjung Priok District, North Jakarta, send their regards to President Joko Widodo through the Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara.

"So, I was asked by the RTs from RT 1 to 15 as well as residents, to send their regards to the Minister and Mr. President, Mr. Joko Widodo", said the Chairman of RW 08 Papanggo, Ujang Abdul Mutholib.

This was conveyed when the Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara, visited his area to ensure the process of distributing basic food aid is going well, Monday afternoon (18/5).

According to him, the basic food assistance provided by the President through the Ministry of Social Affairs is very useful for its citizens during difficult times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Alhamdulillah, many residents told me that during difficult times they feel helped by this assistance. For that, we want to thank you for the assistance given to us from the President through the Minister of Social Affairs," he said.

Furthermore, Ujang added that the number of basic food packages he received in this third stage was twice as much as the previous stage. This is surely from the data he submitted.

"(Basic food) we received today is quite a lot, 2,223 packages. This is the best (amount of assistance) from the first and second (stages). I am grateful because it means (the amount of assistance) is increased due to our proposals. Alhamdulillah, it was made possible today", he said, appreciating the local government's quick response to the proposed data for their regions.

The Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara, together with the Director General of Social Protection and Security (Linjamsos), Pepen Nazaruddin, the Secretary of the Directorate General of Social Protection and Security, M.O. Royani, and the Director of Family Social Security, Rachmat Koesnadi, visited the Papanggo area, North Jakarta, to review the third stage of the distribution of basic food for DKI Jakarta area.

The Minister of Social Affairs represented the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, who was originally present in person. His arrival was welcomed by the Vice Mayor of North Jakarta, Ali Maulana Hakim, and the Head of the North Jakarta Social Service (Kasudinsos), Aji Antoko. The Minister of Social Affairs symbolically handed over 2,223 food packages to several recipient residents.

"I, the Minister of Social Affairs, am here to represent the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Joko Widodo, he sent me here to meet directly with the residents of the Papanggo Village here,” said the Social Affairs Minister, Juliari, in front of several residents who received basic food.

The Minister explained the character of the number one person in Indonesia who loves his people. “He is very kind, very in love with his people, he does not want to see his people in trouble,” he explained.

Therefore, he continued, we, as the Ministers, went directly, to meet face to face with the residents and tell them that we are ready to help. The Minister of Social Affairs also told the time for the distribution of basic food for the next three stages.

"Today is the third stage, food, rice, basic food. Later, after Eid, there are three more stages. Hopefully, it can reduce the burden on you all," said the Minister, who was agreed by the residents.

Basic food social assistance for families affected by COVID-19 in the DKI Jakarta area has entered the third of the six planned stages. The first stage is basic food worth 300 thousand rupiahs and the second stage is rice weighing 25 kilograms.

As of today, the government has provided the third stage of the basic food assistance distribution to 961,000 thousand families out of 1,215,237 recipients in DKI Jakarta.