VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Puan Maharani has voiced support for the issuance of a regional regulation on village customs, which covers local wisdom and the culture of gotong royong or community cooperation.

"I always appreciate the elements of society who continue to maintain Indonesia as a nation with culture, as what President Sukarno said in the Trisakti (concept). I support the issuance of the village customary regional regulation, which is being fought by LP2BN (Nusantara Cultural Protection and Conservation Institution),” she said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.

According to the statement, she held an audience with representatives of LP2BN and the Surabaya Family Hope Program (PKH) assistants on Wednesday.

During the meeting, 50 LP2BN representatives asked the Speaker for her support for the village's customary regional regulation proposal.

Maharani promised to use LP2BN's inputs as "ammunition" for the House in fighting for the country's culture.

"We will continue to support all parties such as LP2BN who want to preserve and advance the culture of Nusantara (archipelago)," she said.

Indonesia can become a huge nation because of its cultural wealth, hence, initiatives for advancing it must continue to be supported, she added.

Furthermore, she held a dialogue with 67 PKH assistants who have been tasked with helping beneficiary families with social assistance programs.

Maharani shared her experience of assisting residents involved in the PKH program while serving as the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.

At the time, she helped PKH beneficiaries to open accounts, take care of money at banks, and draw money from automated teller machines (ATMs).

“Now, everything is through the post office; it really takes extra patience to take care of PKH," she remarked.

The Speaker said that the House will help provide solutions by giving inputs to the government so that obstacles faced by PKH beneficiaries can be resolved.  (Antaranews)