Bengkulu Governor Calls for 'Heavenly Mitigation' to Complement Disaster Preparedness

Bengkulu — The Governor of Bengkulu, Helmi Hasan, has requested that disaster preparedness be supplemented with ‘heavenly mitigation’ through prayer.

“It is not enough to rely solely on physical disaster mitigation efforts; the most important thing is also to perform heavenly mitigation. One way to do this is by praying to God Almighty,” said the Governor of Bengroll in Bengkulu City on Friday.

“What we must offer in supplication when disasters occur everywhere—since Bengkulu is part of Indonesia and part of the world—is our best effort through prayer tonight,” he added.

The Bengkulu Provincial Government also organised simultaneous prayers for the nation on Thursday and Friday as part of the ‘heavenly mitigation’ mentioned by the Governor.

He stated that the joint prayers were held across all faiths, conducted simultaneously at their respective places of worship throughout the province. The Governor and his officials participated in the prayer session at the Baitul Izzah Grand Mosque of Bengkulu Province.

Helmi noted that humans sometimes become too confident that their worldly efforts are sufficient to resolve the challenges they face, thereby neglecting spiritual efforts, even though human life is inseparable from the will of the Almighty.

“We are too confident in our worldly works and forget our spiritual works. Yet, we agree that we exist because of God,” he said.

According to Helmi, the awareness of remembering God needs to be strengthened in daily life, especially when the community faces various calamities and disasters.

“For not even a dry leaf falls without the permission of Allah. That is something we sometimes forget,” Helmi remarked.

He invited the public to continue remembering God as part of the spiritual effort in navigating the various conditions of life.