President Jokowi: the Situation is Back to Normal
President Jokowi talking a salesclerk during impromptu visit to Thamrin on Friday (15/1)
President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Thursday (14/1) made an impromptu visit to the location of the bomb and gunfire attacks that happened on Jalan Thamrin, Central Jakarta.
At Sarinah shopping mall, President Jokowi talked with several salesclerks who were working at that time, before going into a fast food restaurant nearby.
The President also told reporters who had been waiting for him that he made the impromptu visit to the site in order to oversee the situation on the ground.
The workers told me that they were afraid, but now theyre not afraid anymore. I want to see the situation on the ground; in the streets, in the malls. Everything is back to normal, the President said.
From Sarinah, the President and his entourage headed to a hotel located near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle. The President went directly to the receptionist table to find out whether there was an exodus of guests following the incident.
Previously, the President has instructed Tourism Minister to check hotels one by one, especially hotels in Jakarta, as well as tourist destinations.
Theres no exodus of tourists. The situation is back to normal, the President said.
On that occasion, President Jokowi also talked with a foreign tourist and the President told the tourist that everything went back to normal only within 3 hours.
The tourist said that yesterday (Thursday) it was so scary but now its normal. He also said to me thank you, Sir, the President said.
As previously reported, bomb and gunfire attacks rocked Jalan Thamrin near the Sarinah shopping center, claiming 7 lives including the attackers, and injuring dozens of people. (Bey/ES) (EP/YM/Naster)
