TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Heru Budi Hartono, dismissed the news about the 1,000 car units rented for VVIP and state guests for the 79th Indonesian Independence Day celebration at the Nusantara Capital City or IKN in East Kalimantan.

According to Heru Budi, the Ministry of State Secretariat had never signed a contract for the car rental.

"Please set the record straight. I don’t know where (people) get the information, but the state secretariat has never signed a (car rental) contract. We’re just preparing vehicles for the president's (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo) agendas,” said Heru on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

Heru Budi claimed the State Secretariat only arranges around 30 vehicles for the president’s mobility at IKN.

The government’s move to rent luxury cars for guests in the new capital city was previously reported by the Head of the Regional Leadership Council (DPD) of the Indonesian Regional Car Rental Entrepreneurs Association (Asperda) of East Kalimantan Damun Kiswanto in Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan Province, Sunday, August 4, 2024.

He said the ministry has signed an MoU with his side to procure 1,000 car units for the Independence Day celebration. The government has made 50 percent of down payment, he said.

The East Kalimantan Asperda had to bring in additional car units from outside the region due to the limited number of cars available. However, Heru Budi denied the report.

"I would like to clarify that the Ministry of State Secretariat did not rent 1,000 units of cars,” he said. “It’s not possible for 1,000 units of cars to be at IKN.”

Heru Budi said the IKN guests’s mobility will be accommodated by bus. “We are preparing buses for the guests. They are not allowed to bring their own cars,” he stressed.

He explained that the Independence Day celebration at IKN invited at least 1,000 guests for the (flag-hoisting) ceremony in the morning and 1,000 for the afternoon flag-lowering ceremony.

"There is an additional Plaza Ceremony for workers and an additional invitation for 1,000 surrounding residents," he said. So, the total number of guests invited is 3,000 people.

The Minister of State Secretary previously stressed that the government will arrange buses for the IKN guests’ mobility. Meanwhile, the Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said he has no problem with the luxury car rental for IKN guests.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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