Magelang – Sholeh, the owner of a street-side meatball stall in the Bandongan District, Magelang, received happiness. His merchandise was visited by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, on Monday (29/1) afternoon.
His street-side stall became a stopping place for Jokowi and Prabowo to eat meatballs together after attending the inauguration of Graha Utama at the Military Academy (Akmil) Magelang.
“Today, on January 29th, Alhamdulillah, my stall was visited by unexpected guests, the President of Indonesia Mr. Jokowi and Mr. Prabowo at my stall in Bandongan,” said Sholeh happily.
Sholeh was very grateful that the meal with both of them at his place went smoothly. According to him, Jokowi and Prabowo seemed to really enjoy his meatball dishes with a side of fresh coconut water.
Initially, he admitted that he doubted his ability to prepare hundreds of portions of meatballs a day before Jokowi and Prabowo’s visit. In addition to preparing the meatball dish for them, he also made 400 portions to be distributed free to the residents.
“The day before the visit, the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) from the central government came to me and asked for permission for a state visit,” Sholeh said.
“I asked myself, can I prepare it? Actually, I was doubtful, but I was optimistic that I had to be able to do it. And now, everything has gone smoothly,” he continued.
Sholeh also mentioned that his family was very happy to take photos with Jokowi and Prabowo. Moreover, he and his elementary school-aged child were very happy to have the opportunity to shake hands directly with Prabowo.
“I also got to shake hands with Mr. Prabowo. Here’s the photo. Alhamdulillah, it was so unexpected,” Sholeh said.
He considered Prabowo, whom he met for the first time in person, to be very kind and friendly. “From my personal point of view, he’s good. Words cannot express it. He even ate my meatballs himself,” he explained.
Sholeh revealed that during the handshake, Prabowo expressed his wish for Sholeh’s meatball business to be even more successful. “He said, ‘always be successful’ (from Prabowo),” Sholeh said.
He also prayed for Prabowo to be able to lead the country so that all parties remain united.
“May Mr. Prabowo always be healthy and (hopefully) be able to lead this country to remain united in its diversity,” he said.
At the location, not only Jokowi and Prabowo were present, but also several artists and social media influencers such as Raffi Ahmad, Nagita Slavina, Atta Halilintar, Ria Ricis, Lula Lahfah, Rachel Vennya, Salim Nauderer, Tara Budiman, Christian Bong, Celine Evangelista, and Aan Story. They appeared to be wearing plain white shirts. (SENOPATI)
