TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono denied that State Presidential Palace in Jakarta was flooded on Tuesday, Feb. 25. He said the water was just entering the drainage.

“The water is just entering the drainage,” said Basuki at Presidential Palace Jakarta, Tuesday, Feb. 25

Basuki recalled that he was in the Palace at 6 a.m. “I have been here since 6 a.m. and prepared two water pumps. It’s clear [from flooding],” he said.

Earlier, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that today's flooding also submerged the Palace Complex. “The Palace is flooded,” he confirmed via a text message.

Pramono also sent a video showing the flood in several aisles and around Baiturrahim Mosque in the palace complex, President Jokowi’s workplace.

The palace was inundated with water at the height of an adult’s ankle. However, the Palace Press Bureau reported that the water had subsided since around 7 a.m. Based on the video sent by the bureau, the palace was no longer inundated.

The PUPR Ministry had renovated the drainage system in the palace complex in 2017. The project that cost Rp44 billion applied the same system as installed in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium during the rehabilitation project prior to the 2018 Asian Games.

AHMAD FAIZ