Protest at Indramayu Regency Hall Turns Chaotic, Lucky Hakim Annoyed, Demonstrators: Regent Does Not Meet the People Himself

A demonstration by thousands of shrimp farmers affiliated with the Indramayu Coastal Community Coalition (Kompi) in front of the Indramayu Regency Hall on Thursday (3/4/2026) ended in chaos. Several public facilities in Indramayu Town Square, located in the same complex as the Regency Hall, were targeted for destruction by certain rogue elements among the protesters. The unrest stemmed from the demonstrators’ disappointment at not being met by Indramayu Regent Lucky Hakim, despite their hours-long action aimed at directly conveying their aspirations to him. During the protest, the shrimp farmers rejected the northern coast shrimp pond revitalisation, which they say threatens their livelihoods. In Indramayu Regency, the revitalisation carried out by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) targets 2,200 hectares of ponds that have been worked by thousands of farmers for decades. However, from the start of the action in the morning until just before Dhuhr prayer, the regent did not meet his constituents. The crowd eventually dispersed, at which point certain rogue elements vandalised public facilities in Indramayu Town Square as an expression of their disappointment. Indramayu Regent Lucky Hakim later responded to the vandalism, expressing deep regret over the damage to public facilities built with public funds. “The damage is quite extensive, nearly Rp 100 million. That’s public money, but it was destroyed. Even the ‘Indramayu’ inscription was damaged,” said Lucky at the Indramayu Regency Hall, West Java, on Thursday (2/4/2026) night. Lucky explained that the northern coast shrimp pond revitalisation is a National Strategic Project (PSN) implemented by the central government. According to him, the Indramayu Regency Government is not authorised to stop the project.