Transport Minister Addresses Viral Protest During Visit to Ketapang Port
Transport Minister (Menhub) Dudy Purwagandhi has spoken out regarding the protests from holiday travellers during his visit to Ketapang Port. Dudy stated that his team did not use vehicles but walked on foot while conducting checks in the area.
“So, perhaps because the fellow travellers had been waiting a long time yesterday, they got a bit angry, I understand that. However, we also went there without using vehicles. That’s it,” said Dudy Purwagandhi after the launch of the Free Polri Precision Homecoming at Polda Metro Jaya, Wednesday (18/3/2026).
Dudy explained that the visit to Ketapang Port was to coordinate efforts to address the congestion at Gilimanuk. Seeing the long queues of vehicles, Dudy said his team decided not to use vehicles to cross.
“Well, when we arrived at Ketapang, we saw that there were indeed many vehicles queuing. That’s why we didn’t use vehicles to cross. So we left the vehicles at Ketapang, and we boarded the ship as pedestrians,” he stated.
He said that at the time, pedestrians did not need to wait to cross. He mentioned that he and his entourage eventually decided to walk.
“So if it’s pedestrians, they don’t have to wait because they’re not with vehicles. That’s all, really. So our entire entourage entered the ferry as pedestrians,” he added.
Dudy said his team wanted to quickly conduct checks at Ketapang Port to resolve the congestion at Gilimanuk. This was done to ensure that the public celebrating Nyepi Day and Eid al-Fitr would not be disrupted.
“The hope is that the problem or congestion at Gilimanuk can be resolved quickly before Nyepi Day. That’s our goal. To ensure that our brothers and sisters celebrating Nyepi are not disturbed, can travel smoothly, and also our brothers and sisters who will celebrate Eid al-Fitr can cross quickly. That’s all,” he said.
For information, Dudy arrived at Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi on Tuesday (17/3) around 1:30 PM WIB. He then boarded the KMP Darma Rucitra to Banyuwangi. At that time, several drivers and travellers protested because they had been waiting a long time.