Purbaya Instructs Customs to Facilitate Aid Deliveries to Aceh

Jakarta, VIVA – A number of Acehnese residents in Malaysia have sent humanitarian aid to Aceh, but the shipments have encountered obstacles after being held at Port Klang, Malaysia, and have yet to reach Lhokseumawe.

The aid comprises cooking oil valued at Rp 1 billion, granulated sugar worth Rp 50 million, mineral water worth Rp 672 million, ready-to-eat meals valued at Rp 1 billion, new clothing worth Rp 126 billion, copies of the Quran valued at Rp 1 billion, and toilet fixtures worth Rp 4.8 billion.

During a coordination meeting of the Post-Disaster Recovery Task Force for Sumatra, attended by House of Representatives (DPR) leaders and several relevant ministers, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad raised the issue.

“We should be able to expedite this as quickly as possible so that these goods can enter the country and be closely supervised going directly to evacuation centres, in time for the fasting month and Eid al-Fitr celebrations,” Dasco said at the DPR building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 18 February 2026.

In response, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa instructed the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) at the Ministry of Finance to facilitate the delivery of aid from the Acehnese diaspora in Malaysia.

According to the minister, provided there is certification from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirming that the goods constitute disaster relief for victims in Aceh, Customs must release them immediately.

“With the Chair’s permission — as long as there is certification from BNPB, these goods can be released and we can exempt them. So if BNPB states that these are disaster relief goods, Customs will release them,” Purbaya said.

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian echoed the statement, confirming that BNPB would be the designated recipient of the diaspora aid.

“We have already coordinated with BNPB. BNPB will receive the goods and BNPB will distribute them,” Tito said.

In response to the coordination, Dasco immediately endorsed it as an agreement.

“Right, that works,” he said.