Tourist Access to Pulau Merak Besar Swamped with Rubbish, Gerindra Cadres Step In
Tourist access to Pulau Merak Besar has been inundated with various types of organic and non-organic waste, believed to originate from residential areas around Merak. A number of Gerindra Party cadres have stepped in to carry out a clean-up operation.
Piles of rubbish floating at the Medaksa Sebrang Beach jetty in Pulomerak were cleared by cadres of the Gerindra Party's Cilegon branch. The clean-up effort was described as a direct instruction from Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto.
"Thank God, after we arrived, you can see the before and after — the sea is now clean. Especially as this jetty is the crossing point to the tourist destination," said Helldy Agustian, Chairman of the Gerindra Cilegon branch, to reporters on Monday (16/2/2026).
Helldy added that a clean-up operation was also conducted at Mabak Beach, which serves as tourist access to Pulau Merak Kecil. Dozens of deployed Gerindra cadres successfully removed rubbish from the sea to shore, before transporting it to the final waste disposal site.
"We hope the government, particularly Cilegon's Environmental Agency, will also participate," he said.
Meanwhile, local youth figure Dicky Maula Syaf said the rubbish scattered across the waters of Medaksa Sebrang Beach had been an ongoing problem for quite some time. To date, there has been no special attention from the government to address the issue.
"Before the local elections, during the candidacy period, they once brought heavy equipment here before becoming Mayor. After that, nothing more. We wouldn't even know which channel to approach the government through," he said.
Dicky called on all members of the community to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment by not dumping rubbish indiscriminately. According to him, relying solely on the government would not be sufficient.
"If we depend on the government, but the community isn't aware either, it's pointless," he said.
Piles of rubbish floating at the Medaksa Sebrang Beach jetty in Pulomerak were cleared by cadres of the Gerindra Party's Cilegon branch. The clean-up effort was described as a direct instruction from Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto.
"Thank God, after we arrived, you can see the before and after — the sea is now clean. Especially as this jetty is the crossing point to the tourist destination," said Helldy Agustian, Chairman of the Gerindra Cilegon branch, to reporters on Monday (16/2/2026).
Helldy added that a clean-up operation was also conducted at Mabak Beach, which serves as tourist access to Pulau Merak Kecil. Dozens of deployed Gerindra cadres successfully removed rubbish from the sea to shore, before transporting it to the final waste disposal site.
"We hope the government, particularly Cilegon's Environmental Agency, will also participate," he said.
Meanwhile, local youth figure Dicky Maula Syaf said the rubbish scattered across the waters of Medaksa Sebrang Beach had been an ongoing problem for quite some time. To date, there has been no special attention from the government to address the issue.
"Before the local elections, during the candidacy period, they once brought heavy equipment here before becoming Mayor. After that, nothing more. We wouldn't even know which channel to approach the government through," he said.
Dicky called on all members of the community to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment by not dumping rubbish indiscriminately. According to him, relying solely on the government would not be sufficient.
"If we depend on the government, but the community isn't aware either, it's pointless," he said.