Ahmad Luthfi Joins River Cleanup Efforts through the Run For Rivers Movement

The activity formed part of the Sungai Watch non-profit organisation’s campaign titled ‘Run 1,200 KM from Bali to Jakarta’ to promote the river cleanup movement. Hundreds of participants from various backgrounds, including runners, the general public, and public officials, took part in the event held today, Thursday (7/5). The group began the activity by running from Mataram Field in Pekalongan City to Jalan Sulawesi. The action was led by three French siblings: Sam Benchegib, Gary Benchegib, and Kelly Benchegib. Upon arriving in the Kergon area, participants carried out a rubbish cleanup action along the river flow. Afterwards, the group continued running to the Batik Museum. Luthfi assessed that the movement carried out by Sungai Watch serves as a trigger for society and the government to jointly combat the waste problem. “Zero waste is our priority. President Prabowo Subianto has targeted Central Java to achieve zero waste by 2028,” he stated in a written remark on Thursday (7/5/2026). He explained that the current waste generation in Central Java reaches around 6.3 million tonnes. However, only about 30% of the waste can be processed. Therefore, the Central Java Provincial Government (Pemprov Jateng) has prepared several solutions, such as building waste processing facilities using the refuse derived fuel (RDF) system, agglomerated waste processing in Greater Semarang, Greater Pekalongan, and Greater Tegal, as well as regional waste processing in Greater Solo and Greater Magelang. “The provincial government cannot work alone, so we are encouraging all regencies/cities to create MoUs to reduce waste hotspots,” he said. According to Luthfi, public awareness in handling and processing waste must also be increased, starting from the household level, neighbourhood units (RT and RW), to villages/sub-districts. “We must handle waste comprehensively. From upstream to downstream, we must solve it all,” he stated. Meanwhile, one of Sungai Watch’s founders, Sam Benchegib, said that day 41 of the run from Bali to Jakarta felt very special due to the presence of Ahmad Luthfi, Pekalongan Mayor Achmad Afzan Arslan Djunaid, and Acting Regent of Pekalongan Sukirman. “This is a run to protect rivers in Indonesia. Until now, all rivers in Indonesia have rubbish. Hopefully, this journey can inspire the government to clean the rivers,” he said. Sam mentioned that they also want to expand Sungai Watch’s operations to Central Java. According to him, there have already been discussions with Ahmad Luthfi regarding the plan. “The Governor said he wants to provide an office. The Sungai Watch foundation is small, so it must collaborate with the government and communities. This collaboration will be very good,” he noted. He also highlighted the condition of the rivers passed during the run, such as in Demak, Kudus, and Pekalongan. According to him, almost all the rivers traversed are still filled with rubbish. “This is everyone’s problem. So we must think about what the solution is,” he concluded.