"My message is, in the midst of everything which was supposed to be happy, there is an incident that will surely irritate the people," the governor said during the 72nd anniversary ceremony of Central Java Province in Semarang on Monday.
"(For instance) What is happening in Pemalang; at the same time, we remind all regional governments, including us reminding ourselves, stop all the terrible practices of buying and selling positions that are heard everywhere; thus, I remind you to stop or be arrested," he added.
The practice of corruption is a betrayal of the hard work of the poor, he said.
The governor then recounted the story of garlic farmers in Tegal district who fought to continue planting their garlic crop even though their product was considered inferior to imported garlic.
He said that such a spirit must be adopted, and it must also serve as a reminder to officials that their position was, in truth, a tool to help them serve the people.
"I was touched when I heard the story of the garlic farmers in Tegal District. For years, (their products) were beaten up by imported garlic, but they did not give up. If our farmers dare to fight all-out, it is a big sin for us to just remain still," he said.
Thus, the Central Java provincial government launched a Garlic Learning Center in Tuwel Village, Bojong Sub-district, Tegal.
The program, which was also supported by the Bank of Indonesia, Bogor Institute of Agriculture, and the Tegal government, aimed to promote the image of local garlic, which has a better taste than imported garlic.
"Such is pride. Keep fighting even though it hurts. Not hurting the struggling ones instead. There is a lot of (tasks) that we must resolve, there are infrastructure, economics, sociocultural, and technological (issues)," he added.
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Translator: Wisnu Adhi N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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