ENGLISH VERSION
Pangkalpinang atensipublik.com – Flash floods that hit three major provinces on the island of Sumatra, namely Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, left behind a number of political antics from the authorities on Friday, December 5, 2025.
The one that was most highlighted by netizens was the former Minister of Forestry during President SBY’s era, Zulkifli Hasan, who is familiarly called Zulhas by the media.
In several videos, Zulhas portrayed himself as a “holy Santa Claus” bringing aid to the affected residents.
This was further emphasized by his act of carrying aid in the form of sacks of rice in front of the cameras of the pro-government media.
In fact, Zulhas was one of the actors who “contributed” to the release of forest concessions covering an area five times the size of DKI Jakarta Province, or around 1.6 million hectares.
Not only Zulhas, but the Governor of North Sumatra – who is also Joko Widodo’s beloved son-in-law – Bobby Nasution, was even more absurd.
He actually threw sacks of rice from a BASARNAS (National Search and Rescue Agency) helicopter at a height of approximately twenty to thirty meters above the ground.
Unsurprisingly, the rice aid scattered everywhere, leaving the affected residents feeling bitter, as if it were something contagious.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) – quoted by The Guardian – stated that they are sending rapid response teams and critical supplies to the region, as well as strengthening disease surveillance systems.
The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters in Geneva that it was “another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent and more extreme weather events, with disastrous effects”.(LH)
