President Prabowo Praises Post-Disaster Rapid Recovery

President Prabowo spends New Year’s Eve 2026 with disaster-affected residents in Batu Hula village, Batang Torudistrict, South Tapanuli regency, on Wednesday night (12/31). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Rusman)

President Prabowo Subianto expressed appreciation for the progress in disaster response in North Sumatra, particularly in South Tapanuli regency.

In his remarks to the affected residents, the President stated that no villages in South Tapanuli remain isolated.

“Across most of North Sumatra, significant improvements have been made. The Governor just reported that initially dozens of villages were cut off, now perhaps only five villages remain disconnected,” the President said on Wednesday (12/31) in South Tapanuli regency.

Earlier that day, the President had inspected emergency infrastructure construction, including a bridge that was completed in a short time. The President described this achievement as the result of hard work and collaboration from all parties, including the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), ministries/agencies, and the community.

“I inspected the newly built bridge earlier which completed in quite a short time. Normally, such construction takes three weeks to a month to complete. This was completed in how many days? Ten days. Thank you. This is the result of hard work by all institutions, the TNI, the Polri, the community, Ministry of Public Works, the BNPB, nearly all ministries and agencies are present here, as I observed,” he stated.

On that occasion, the President also extended condolences to the families of disaster victims. The Head of State reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to promptly rebuilding residents’ houses that were damaged or lost.

“We are determined to quickly build houses to replace those that were lost or damaged. We will assist. I see that our speed in recovery is quite good. I’m quite optimistic,” said the President.

“We’ll face the future, we are facing the coming year with full spirit and optimism. We grow stronger. Our nation will grow stronger,” he continued.

In addition, the President emphasized that the Government will not hesitate to take firm action against law violators. “Those who do not comply with the law and regulations will have all their permits revoked. Next year, we will not hesitate to act to protect the interests of the nation, the state, and especially our people,” he stated. (BPMI) (EST/LW)