Residents Along Senen Railway Tracks Reveal Moment Prabowo Offers Relocation to Flats

President Prabowo Subianto made an impromptu visit to a residential area along the railway tracks in the Senen district of Central Jakarta on Thursday (26/3). A local resident named Chono (56) recounted the moment when Prabowo offered him and other locals the opportunity to move into a rusun (multi-storey housing complex).

“I shook his hand and said ‘thank you, sir, for coming here’. Because he said, ‘Oh, there are still many of my people who are struggling’, that’s what he said. So I said to Mr Prabowo, ‘If you build a rusun, would you move, sir?’, ‘yes’, I said,” Chono recounted his conversation with Prabowo along the Senen railway tracks on Friday (27/3/2026).

Chono stated that he and the surrounding residents wish to be relocated to a rusun. He mentioned that the high cost of rentals is making him want to move to such housing.

“From him, ‘suppose I build a rusun, would you move, sir?’, ‘yes’ I replied. The residents here spontaneously agree. They all have family cards (KK). Because rentals are expensive now, you know, at least above Rp800,000 for something decent, and for tripleks at least Rp500,000,” he said.

Chono also described his conversation with Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Chono said Teddy instructed the relevant agencies to conduct data collection.

“Just collect the data. ‘Later, my people will come here to collect the data’, like that. Mr Teddy immediately spoke to him (Prabowo),” he said.

Chono, who works as a scavenger, hopes Prabowo will soon realise the promise of the rusun. He said he will hold onto Prabowo’s promise.

“Yes, the hope is that if a rusun is built, I want to move. That’s what I’m asking for. I’ll hold onto his promise,” he said.

Prabowo visited the residents along the Senen railway tracks on Thursday (26/3) afternoon. Prabowo stated he would soon build decent housing for the local residents.

“Hearing the aspirations of the community there, insyaallah we will soon build decent housing for the people in that area quickly,” Prabowo wrote in the caption on his Instagram account.

Prabowo reaffirmed his commitment to providing decent housing for the people. “And it has become my determination to provide decent housing for the Indonesian people,” he said.

Words from Other Residents

A woman living in the area named Seger said she was moved by Prabowo’s arrival. She revealed that throughout her life living in the area, this was the first time a president had come directly to greet the residents and listen to the people’s aspirations.

“I’m so happy. All my life since I was little living here, no president has ever come here. So when he came here, I felt so happy. He has given me sustenance,” said Seger, quoted from the Government Communication Agency’s statement on Thursday (26/3).

Seger, who works as a busker, appreciated Prabowo’s step to build decent housing for her residential area. She said economic limitations had led her to be evicted by a landlord, forcing her to live along the railway tracks.

Another resident, Nur Hanifah, said she was moved to meet Prabowo directly. She even left her cooking in the kitchen to go outside and shake hands with Prabowo. She hopes Prabowo will continue the assistance.

In agreement, another resident, Yana, also hopes that social assistance programmes like PKH will continue, as well as support for children such as the free nutritious meals programme (MBG).

“MBG, basically so that schoolchildren can continue like this, because most people here are below the poverty line. Let it continue, and as a housewife, it’s for the schoolchildren,” said Yana.