We cannot evaluate it based on the amount of the aid, but on our collective sincerity and compassion to alleviate their sadnessJakarta (ANTARA) - The Agriculture Ministry has dispatched food and clothes worth Rp2.69 billion, which were donated by the ministry's partners, employees, and a number of associations, for people affected by the earthquake in Cianjur, West Java.
"I thank the ministry's partners and employees for empathizing with what happened to our brethren in Cianjur with this humanitarian aid," Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin said in a statement released on Friday.
The Cianjur earthquake is a collective responsibility that has tested the nationalism and faith of Indonesia's diverse population, he added.
The aid was sent from the ministry's office here on Thursday (November 24, 2022), and was headed directly to the disaster site.
The humanitarian aid worth Rp2.69 billion included foods such as rice, cooking oil, mineral water, eggs, margarine, biscuits, and baby food, as well as proper clothes.
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This compassion and kindness is the realization of the value within the Pancasila ideology, Yasin remarked.
"We cannot evaluate it based on the amount of the aid, but on our collective sincerity and compassion to alleviate their sadness," he said.
"What is most important is that they do not feel alone because all of us are ready to help," he added.
The ministry, along with its partners, will always be there in every disaster as a form of the state's presence to alleviate the misery of its people, he remarked.
Meanwhile, a representative from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), Johnny Ponto, said he prayed that the victims and residents in Cianjur gain strength and patience.
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"We participated by providing mineral water, biscuits, and children’s foods because, in our opinion, these are what the people there really need," he explained.
On Monday (November 21), an earthquake, measuring 5.6 in magnitude (M), rattled the southwest of Cianjur, West Java. Based on information provided by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the quake struck at 1:21 p.m. local time.
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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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