Addressing reporters in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday, Minister Agus Andrianto said the money was collected from immigration offices nationwide during the 2026 Immigration Service Day and would be used to assist the police, military and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in ongoing response operations.
“I have instructed my team to convert the funds into various forms of assistance, most notably clean water, to broaden the impact of our collection,” Andrianto said during an Immigration Service Day event at the ministry’s polytechnic campus.
He said procuring each unit or consignment of clean water could cost around Rp30 million, or about $1,700, stressing that integrated management was needed to ensure aid reached as many communities as possible.
Andrianto added that the ministry had decided to make this year’s Immigration Service Day more people-oriented, prioritising activities that deliver immediate benefits to the public amid continuing emergencies after the floods and landslides that struck Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra in November 2025.
As a result, he said, the ministry scrapped plans for formal ceremonies and instead focused on social programmes, including blood drives, the distribution of 20,000 coconut seedlings and the provision of clean water to affected residents.
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“We cancelled a planned visit to the Heroes’ Cemetery, as the military and police had already done so for Independence Day. To avoid duplication and unnecessary spending, we chose to focus on urgent community needs,” Andrianto said.
The disaster in Sumatra, triggered by prolonged heavy rainfall, damaged infrastructure and displaced tens of thousands of people, according to government data, prompting a multi-agency response that remains under way months later.
Director of Immigration Cooperation Arief Munandar said the ministry had organised Immigration Service Day events at multiple locations, with a focus on distributing assistance directly to local communities, including staple food packages.
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He added that the ministry aimed to institutionalise the charity-driven approach in future celebrations, making public service and disaster response a permanent feature of its annual agenda.
Indonesia is prone to floods and landslides during the rainy season, with climate variability and environmental degradation often exacerbating the impact of extreme weather, officials and experts say.
Authorities have urged government agencies and the private sector to strengthen coordination and preparedness, as recovery in parts of Sumatra continues and the risk of further disasters remains high.
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Translator: Achmad I, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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