Mbah Iran, a cow from Bantul, selected as President Prabowo's sacrificial animal

Sarjono, a cattle farmer from Jati Wonokromo, Bantul, expressed his joy that his prized cow, Mbah Iran, was chosen as President Prabowo Subianto’s sacrificial animal this year. “Initially, it was the veterinarian who proposed it to the Food Security and Agriculture Office (DKPP) of Bantul, and it was immediately sent to Jakarta,” said Sarjono in Yogyakarta on Sunday (17/5). He learned that his cow had been selected as President Prabowo’s sacrificial animal through a messenger from Jakarta who contacted him by telephone in May. “After that, the Pleret Office (Bantul) conducted a survey here and provided vitamins and deworming medication to ensure the cow was healthy,” he said. He bought the cow when it was three years old, so now the cow is about five years old. “I’m happy because it is needed by the number one person in Indonesia; it was bought for 90 million Rupiah,” said Sarjono. The name Mbah Iran, he continued, comes from the name of the previous owner, a cattle farmer from Kebumen, Central Java, and that name has now become associated with the cow. “I bought it from Mbah Iran, so I named it Mbah Iran,” he said. “The care is also special now that it has been bought by Mr. Prabowo,” he said. Sarjono admitted that he has been raising cattle since he was a child and currently has about eight cows in the pen near his house. In previous years, his cows had also been considered for purchase and used as sacrificial animals by former President Jokowi.