By: Dina Kahyang Putri )*
Proving the presence of the state for the community in a real way, President Joko Widodo directly visited the Cianjur earthquake victims at the Assistance Post established by BIN to provide assistance for the renovation of houses for all the people who had previously been damaged by the earthquake.
Right on Thursday (8/12) the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo came directly to visit the Assistance Post that had been set up by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) for earthquake victims in Cijedil Village, Cugenang District, Cianjur Regency. His presence was greeted with great enthusiasm by local residents, even when he was present, it was seen that the children at the command post were dancing with the aim of welcoming Jokowi.
During this visit, he intended to hand over the assistance directly to residents so that they could use it to renovate their homes after they were reduced to rubble due to the magnitude 5.6 earthquake that occurred some time ago.
Then, the amount of house renovation assistance provided to Cianjur residents was adjusted to how badly the buildings or houses were damaged due to the earthquake. This scheme also reflects the provision of assistance to residents of Palu, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) some time ago.
Of course, with the division of the amount adjusted to how damaged the residents’ houses are, it can be said that the assistance provided by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia prioritizes the principle of justice because it is very adapted to the needs of the residents themselves. The division is based on the category of how badly damaged the residents’ houses are, in which there are 3 categories, namely heavy damage, moderate damage and light damage.
President Jokowi also said that on this occasion his party had handed over assistance to approximately 8,100 Cianjur residents who were affected by the earthquake.
For information, for the provision of assistance when in Palu, NTB, Jokowi said that the amount was for houses that suffered heavy damage, assistance worth IDR 50 million was given, then for houses with moderate damage, they received assistance worth IDR 25 million and for houses with light damage, they received assistance worth IDR 10 million.
In fact, reflecting on the amount of assistance provided by the Government to the residents of Palu, for the residents of Cianjur themselves, the Government then provided an additional nominal amount. Head of State President Jokowi explained that before actually providing assistance, he had to do a lot of calculations first.
Not only that, he has also coordinated directly with the Minister of Finance (RI Minister of Finance), Sri Mulyani and asked whether there were indeed any funds that could be given to the public. It turned out that the State Treasurer admitted that indeed there were still some funds.
As a result, Jokowi firmly decided that the amount of funds for renovating houses for Cianjur earthquake victims would be increased in nominal value. From the previous Rp. 50 million for houses with heavy damage, it was added to Rp. 60 million, then for moderate damage, which was previously Rp. 25 million, it became Rp. 30 million and for lightly damaged houses, which was previously Rp. 10 million, it became Rp. 15 million.
Even though it has been added, RI 1 again explains that assistance can be taken by all residents but in stages, so that it cannot be taken all 100 percent at one time. Of course, the scheme implemented by the Government is a smart solution.
This is because, reflecting again on the distribution of assistance provided in other provinces, in fact when it was possible for the community to directly take the aid funds 100 percent, it turned out that the money they received was actually not used to build and renovate their homes.
However, the assistance from the Government of Indonesia, which should have been aimed at renovating houses, was instead used to buy other goods, such as motorbikes. Therefore, for now, the scheme for taking assistance is indeed designed in such a way as to minimize this behavior.
Jokowi has great hopes for all the people affected by the Cianjur earthquake to be able to really use the assistance distributed by the Government as they should. He advised that the assistance was indeed used to rebuild their houses which were previously damaged by the earthquake.
Not only that, but the seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia reminded all people, when they want to build a house, they must comply with the directions or construction that has been outlined by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (Kemen PUPR). The reason is that the construction of the houses built will be adjusted to the surrounding geographical conditions and will indeed be designed to be earthquake resistant.
From direct visits by President Jokowi to survivors of the Cianjur earthquake at the BIN Assistance Working Group to the provision of assistance aimed at enabling people to renovate their homes after they were damaged and turned into rubble due to the earthquake, it is clear in concrete terms that this is evidence of how the state is present in within the community to be able to guarantee their needs.
)* The author is a contributor to Persada Institute
