Prabowo Donates 1,455 Cattle to Flood-Affected Residents in Aceh

President Prabowo Subianto has made a personal donation of 1,455 cattle to residents affected by flooding and landslides in Aceh.

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian revealed that the cattle donation was valued at Rp72.7 billion.

“We also report that the President has provided assistance totalling Rp72,750,000,000 for the purchase of cattle,” said Tito, in his capacity as head of the Post-Flood Recovery Task Force for Sumatra, during a coordination meeting at the House of Representatives on Wednesday (18 February).

According to him, the beef will be distributed to residents across 3,042 villages spread over 19 districts and municipalities, including Simeulue Regency, which was recently struck by an earthquake.

Tito stated that he had issued a circular letter directing that the beef be distributed to residents on that day, or one day before the community collectively begins the Ramadan fast.

“The cattle have already been purchased and we have issued a circular letter for distribution today, one day before the fasting month. The essence is that residents across 3,042 villages must receive their share of beef,” he said.

The donation of thousands of cattle was also intended to support the Acehnese Meugang tradition. Meugang is a tradition of cooking and consuming beef or buffalo meat practised by the Acehnese community three times a year before major religious occasions, including Ramadan.

The head of the Darul Mukhlisin Islamic Boarding School, Ustad Mulkana, expressed gratitude for the donation, as students and teachers were able to once again observe the Meugang tradition despite the constraints of the post-flood situation.

He explained that the school had received two cattle, which had been distributed among more than 200 students and over 50 members of the teaching staff. According to him, the assistance not only fulfilled the tradition but also provided a morale boost for the boarding school community as they undertook their worship throughout Ramadan.

“When we brought the students to this boarding school, we had our doubts. What would our Meugang look like? Would the children miss out on Meugang? So, praise be to God, this is a first experience for us,” said Mulkana at the location on Tuesday (17 February).