TheIKNPost.com — The State Palace apologizes for the chaos at Jokowi’s Open House event
The Presidential Palace responded to the chaos that occurred during President Joko Widodo’s open house event at the State Palace on Wednesday afternoon, April 10 2024.
Head of the Protocol Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat, Yusuf Permana, stated that the Palace understood the high enthusiasm of the people who attended. However, Yusuf revealed that the Palace had conveyed that there were limited time, including for preparations for noon prayers.
“We apologize if we cannot accommodate the presence of all people,” said Yusuf in a short message.
He also emphasized that this incident would be an evaluation material for the Palace to provide the best service to the community.
During the open house, chaos occurred when a number of residents broke into the Palace complex at 11.20 WIB.
They did not follow protocol directions, did not carry out screening, and passed through the detector door without the procedures that should have been followed. A number of residents even brought luggage, including cell phones, which were actually prohibited from being brought in.
Residents who wanted to meet President Jokowi directly in the friendship room experienced problems, because security officers did not allow them to enter.
This caused several residents to turn to take basic food aid which should have been distributed by the Palace to those who had met with the President.
Yusuf did not provide information regarding any injured or unconscious victims in the incident. However, he emphasized that this incident would be evaluated by the Palace to improve services to the community.
The Presidential Secretariat differentiates access to open house events for officials and the general public. People who want to attend the open house must register first around the Ministry of State Secretariat building to be able to get in line.
The open house event ended at around 11.00 WIB with the decision to close the Palace gates by the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres) after further chaos occurred.
In its response, the State Palace apologized for the inconvenience experienced by the public during the open house event and committed to carrying out evaluations to improve the public’s experience at future events.
