Approximately one thousand people, consisting of pork sellers and\nconsumers, protested against Circular Letter or SE issued by the Mayor\nof Medan Number 500-7.1\/1540 concerning the Arrangement of Locations and\nManagement of Waste from the Sale of Non-Halal Meat in the City of\nMedan.<\/p>\n
Protesters demonstrated at the Medan City Hall on Thursday, February\n26, 2026. They requested that Mayor Rico Waas revoke the circular\nbecause it is considered to be detrimental to the pork selling\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
The circular issued by Mayor Rico Waas was considered by pork sellers\nas a form of discrimination under the pretext of arrangement and\nmanagement of waste from the sale of pork. \u201cWe sell pork that has been\nslaughtered at the slaughterhouse, not slaughtered haphazardly and in\npublic,\u201d said one of the pork sellers, whose last name is Marbun.<\/p>\n
According to Effendi Naibaho, one of the protesters, the Medan City\nMayor\u2019s circular has the potential to kill small businesses that have\nbeen running for a long time in the City of Medan. Naibaho said that\nthere has never been a ban on selling pork in Medan since the time of\nMedan Mayor Sjoerkani.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the intention is to arrange pork sellers, why does the circular\nonly target pork (non-halal) sellers?\u201d said Naibaho through a\nloudspeaker.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere of the demonstration became tense because Rico Waas\ndid not immediately meet with the protesters. The crowd began to throw\nwater bottles at officers from the Medan City Civil Service Police Unit\nand personnel from the Medan City Police, right in front of the gate of\nthe Medan City Hall, Jalan Kapten Maulana Lubis number 1 Medan.<\/p>\n
The commotion stopped after the General Chairman of Horas Bangso\nBatak, Lamsiang Sitompul, who gathered the pork sellers, asked the\nprotesters to be orderly. \u201cPlease respect and honor our brothers and\nsisters who are fasting. There should be no throwing of any kind,\u201d said\nSitompul.<\/p>\n
Medan Mayor Rico Waas and Deputy Mayor of Medan Zakiyuddin Harahap\nfinally agreed to receive representatives of the protesters and accept\nthe demand that the circular regarding the sale of pork be withdrawn and\nrevised so that it does not seem discriminatory. After the meeting,\nDeputy Mayor Zakiyuddin Harahap and Assistant for Government and\nCommunity Welfare of the Medan City Government, M. Sofyan, met with the\nprotesters.<\/p>\n
The Medan City Government stated that the circular was not a policy\nof banning trade, but rather a step to arrange for business activities\nto take place in an orderly, healthy, and conducive manner in a diverse\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
The Medan City Government, continued Sofyan, guarantees that there\nwill be no ban on selling non-halal commodities and will improve the\nwording of the circular. The Medan City Government, said Sofyan, does\nnot prohibit residents from trading in non-halal commodities, but rather\nregulates the location of sales so as not to cause environmental\ndisruption, health risks, or discomfort for residents around public\nfacilities, places of worship, and schools.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pork-sellers-in-medan-protest-against-mayors-circular-1772153364", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }