Jakarta – Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan promised to provide a sufficient supply of subsidized diesel fuel for fishermen and make it easier for them to obtain licenses during a campaign stop in Lamongan, East Java, on Friday.
"I'm wearing a T-shirt that says 'Solar Langka' [Solar-brand diesel is scarce]. [The supply] will later be secured," he said at an event with fishermen in the regency, as quoted by Antara.
Some of the fishermen said they had been struggling to find enough diesel fuel for their fishing boats and had challenges obtaining fishing licenses and staple foods.
Anies spent much of the week on campaign across fishing regions in East Java. Before Lamongan, he stopped in Banyuwangi, a major fishing port and a stronghold of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in the 2019 presidential election.
In Banyuwangi on Thurday, Anies made the same pledge to the local fishing community that he did elsewhere.
He said that during his time as Jakarta governor he gained experience handling licensing for micro businesses. Rather than having citizens do all the work, he said, he had teams dispatched to business owners in Jakarta to process their permits directly.
"We want to change things so that fishermen are not the ones who take care of [license applications], rather we will come to them and make the licensing an easy, one-stop process," he said.
Aside from business licensing, the fishermen also expressed concern about the availability of subsidized diesel. Anies said the issue would be a priority for him and his running mate, Muhaimin Iskandar, if they were elected.
Anies said he would ensure fishermen could obtain sufficient subsidized diesel, as the fuel was vital for their livelihoods. He added that he would, if elected, prepare the infrastructure necessary for the provision of subsidies.