Visiting Aceh, Social Affairs Minister and Home Affairs Minister Lead Friday Prayers at Tgk Chik Pante Geulima Grand Mosque

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) together with Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian held a Friday prayer with members of the public at the Tgk Chik Pante Geulima Grand Mosque today. The Friday prayer was conducted during a series of working visits to review temporary shelters (huntara) for disaster-affected residents and to ensure the delivery of government aid, including livelihood guarantees (jadup), is proceeding well.

In his remarks after the Friday prayer, Gus Ipul said that misfortune is a test that must be faced with faith and piety towards Allah. He urged the public to stay close to the Qur’an and to cultivate patience in facing trials. “Every calamity must be faced by people of piety towards Allah. The first thing a pious person must do is engage with the Qur’an daily, then cultivate contentment (qanaah) and prepare themselves to face various tests,” Gus Ipul said in a statement on Friday (6/3/2026).

He added that Friday is a noble and blessed day for Muslims to increase prayers and seek Allah’s help. “We hope that all our prayers will be accepted by Allah. Friday is a good day to pray and seek help so that we can endure these difficult times,” he said.

Gus Ipul also explained that the government continues to work in an integrated manner in handling the disaster’s impacts, from the emergency response phase to the recovery stage. Under President Prabowo Subianto’s directive, various ministries, agencies, state-owned enterprises (BUMN), and elements of the TNI and Polri have been mobilised to accelerate rehabilitation and reconstruction in the affected areas.

“The President has taken steps to mobilise all state resources. A task force for the acceleration of rehabilitation and reconstruction has even been formed, led directly by the Minister of Home Affairs,” he noted.

He explained that in the initial phase of the disaster, the government focused on emergency response. Now, the government is entering the recovery phase, including the provision of temporary housing for affected communities.

Normatively, the management of temporary housing falls under the coordination of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). However, because of the disaster’s scale, the President has instructed various parties to help provide it.

“State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), agencies, and even private sector entities have joined in to provide temporary housing. This is a collective effort so that the affected communities can soon have a decent place to live during the recovery period,” he said.

In addition, the government is distributing various social recovery aids to affected families, such as housing repair support, livelihood guarantees (jadup), and other social assistance currently being disbursed. “We are now in the process of disbursement. Hopefully, in the coming weeks ahead of Eid, all eligible people will receive these aids,” Gus Ipul added.

Meanwhile, Tito said that the central government continues to monitor disaster response in Aceh since the onset of the disaster. He even went directly to inspect several affected areas to verify conditions on the ground. “I went to Aceh myself and walked through several affected areas to see the situation firsthand. From our monitoring, the impact of this disaster is quite widespread, especially in Aceh,” he said.

According to Tito, there have been many progress in recovery in recent months, such as the restoration of national road access, electricity, communications networks, and fuel distribution. However, he stressed that several tasks remain unfinished. “Now much has returned to normal, but the problems are not yet solved. There is still mud to be cleared, bridges to be built permanently, and infrastructure repairs in a number of areas,” he said.

Tito also affirmed the government’s commitment to ensure refugees receive more suitable accommodation as soon as possible. “We aim for refugees not to live in tents any longer. They must be moved to temporary housing or supported to live in family homes,” he said.

In addition, the government is distributing various aid to affected communities, including social support from the Ministry of Social Affairs in the form of livelihood guarantees for refugees and other basic needs assistance. “We hope that the aid distributed can help ease the burden on the people. Under the President’s instruction, the government is working to ensure aid is disbursed as quickly as possible, including before Eid al-Fitr,” Tito added.

He emphasised that disaster management in Aceh is a joint effort involving all levels of government, both central and local, as well as community support. “We ask for your prayers so that we may all be strengthened to carry out these tasks and ensure the recovery process proceeds smoothly,” he concluded.