Frustrated at Not Meeting Regent Lucky Hakim, Protesters Throw Field Snakes at Indramayu Pendopo

A protest action carried out by the Aliansi Topi Jerami alliance at the Indramayu Pendopo attracted widespread attention from the public. This was because, during the action, they threw several snakes in front of the Pendopo Indramayu gate.

The snakes thrown by the crowd were of the species Xenochrophis vittatus, known as the chequered keelback, and Hypsiscopus plumbea, known as the plumbeous water snake or field snake. The throwing of the snakes was carried out due to the crowd’s disappointment at not being met by the Indramayu Regent, Lucky Hakim.

In the action that took place on Thursday (7/5/2026), the crowd raised several issues related to environmental, education, and economic concerns. The snakes they threw during the action were seen as a form of satire towards the local government, which is considered to have not done much in a concrete way to improve these issues.

“Throwing the snakes is a form of our criticism of policies that seem symbolic. The community needs real solutions,” said the action coordinator, Rakhmat Hidayat, on Friday (8/5/2026).

Rakhmat gave an example of the Indramayu Regent Lucky Hakim’s step of releasing snakes into the fields to deal with rat pests some time ago, which was considered merely symbolic. According to him, that step was more ceremonial in nature compared to the real solutions needed by farmers.

Regarding the environmental issues raised by the crowd in the protest, these included highlighting the rubbish problem, which is considered not yet handled maximally. They mentioned that currently there are many piles of rubbish at disposal sites that are not routinely collected.

As a result, piles of rubbish have now become a common sight for the public on various roads and other locations. In addition to disrupting aesthetics, this also causes environmental and health disturbances for the surrounding community.