Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stated that he would depart for Lampung today, May 5, following videos showing damaged roads in the region made rounds on social media.

"I want to make sure tomorrow, I want to see whether what is in the video is true or not," the President said in a press statement at Sarinah Mall, Jakarta, on Thursday, May 4.

Damaged roads can disrupt the mobility of goods

According to him, the central government is now taking data on district, city, and provincial roads that are heavily damaged because the regional budget was not directed much toward infrastructure. The state head emphasized the importance of road repairs.

"It will disrupt the mobility of people and goods, and cause logistics costs to increase so that goods cannot compete with other regions and other countries. We must know the benefits of infrastructure," he underlined.

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono had earlier announced the President's planned visit to Lampung. Other than national roads, he would also check the condition of provincial and district roads under the authority of the local government.

Basuki did not deny that the inspection was carried out due to criticism voiced by a resident Bima Yudho Saputro which was then viral and drew public spotlight. "He (President Jokowi) will check the policies of the regional government," Basuki said on Tuesday, May 2.

Recently, issues circulating on social media that the Lampung provincial government repaired the damaged roads immediately after President Jokowi's planned visit was announced. However, Basuki claimed that the central government did not issue such orders to the local agencies.

Starting from Bima's criticism

Bima Yudho Saputro who resides in Australia released a 3-minute and 28-second video on his TikTok @awbimaxreborn, expressing his disappointment over the poor development in his hometown, such as damaged roads and fraud in the education system.

Bima's criticism of the Lampung development resulted in him being reported to the police for allegedly spreading fake news. The police eventually stopped the case as many parties showed support for Bima.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1722157/jokowi-to-visit-lampung-to-inspect-damaged-road