Rieke Diah Pitaloka Surprised by Karawang Prisoner Who Refuses to Go Home: 'Want to Work Here?'

Legislator from House Commission XIII, Rieke Diah Pitaloka, was surprised to find an inmate who chose to stay rather than leave the prison. She met the inmate during a visit to the Karawang Class IIA Prison. ‘Do you want to work here?’ Rieke asked one of the inmates she met during the working visit to the Karawang Class IIA Prison, West Java, as seen on Rieke’s Instagram account on Monday (3/8/2026). ‘Yes,’ replied the inmate. Rieke was curious about the inmate’s reason for being reluctant to leave the prison. The inmate cited the knowledge gained for independent living as the reason. ‘So there are those who don’t want to go home, they want to work here. Stay strong, sir. Keep up the spirit, fix everything. Do you gain knowledge here?’ Rieke asked again. ‘Alhamdulillah,’ the inmate answered. The visit took place on Friday (31/7). Besides greeting the inmates, Rieke also toured the prison facilities, including the kitchen, clinic, and various rehabilitation programmes such as fish farming, animal husbandry, and agriculture. ‘The rights of inmates must be properly fulfilled. However, this must also be supported by an adequate number of staff according to the workload. In health services, for instance, sufficient and competent medical personnel are needed so that the services provided are truly optimal,’ she said. After the tour, Rieke praised Karawang Prison for successfully implementing rehabilitation programmes in the food security sector. For her, skills, work ethic, and a sense of responsibility are essential provisions for inmates when they return to society. The rehabilitation programme is a tangible manifestation of the 15 Action Programmes of the Minister of Immigration and Corrections, Agus Andrianto, particularly in strengthening productive rehabilitation, empowering inmates, and optimising prison land to support national food self-sufficiency. The food produced will be used to meet the dietary needs of the prison population. ‘Mrs Rieke Diah Pitaloka’s visit provides positive energy for us to continue improving the quality of services, from food and healthcare to rehabilitation oriented towards behavioural change and independence,’ said Head of Karawang Class IIA Prison, Ma’ruf Prasetyo. ‘We will continue to optimise the available land, strengthen independence rehabilitation programmes, and ensure that inmates receive useful skills. Thus, the correctional facility is not only a place to serve a sentence, but also a place to learn, create, and prepare oneself to become a better individual when returning to society,’ concluded Ma’ruf.