Magelang – Sholeh, the owner of a street food meatball stall in the Bandongan District, Magelang, received happiness. Indeed, his merchandise was visited by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto on Monday (29/1) afternoon.
His street food 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) in Magelang.
“Today, January 29, Alhamdulillah, my stall was visited by guests that I never expected, the President of Indonesia, Mr. Jokowi and Mr. Prabowo, who came to my stall in Bandongan,” said Sholeh happily.
Sholeh was very grateful that the joint meal with both of them at his place went smoothly. According to him, Jokowi and Prabowo seemed to really enjoy his meatball dish with the addition of fresh coconut water.
In fact, he admitted that he had doubted his ability to prepare hundreds of meatball orders the day before Jokowi and Prabowo’s visit. In addition to preparing the meatball dish for the two of them, he also made 400 portions to be distributed for free to the residents.
“The day before, the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) came to me personally and asked for permission for a state visit,” Sholeh said.
“I asked myself if I could prepare it or not, right? Actually, I had doubts, but I had to be optimistic and strong. Apparently, now everything can run smoothly,” he continued.
Sholeh also mentioned that his family was very happy to take photos together with Jokowi and Prabowo. Moreover, he and his elementary school-aged son 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, I never expected this,” said Sholeh.
He considered Prabowo, whom he met for the first time in person, to be very kind and friendly. “From my personal perspective, he’s good. I can’t put it into words. He even ate my meatballs,” he explained.
Sholeh revealed that during the handshake moment, Prabowo wished him success in his meatball business, which he had been running until now. “He said, ‘Always be successful’ (from Prabowo),” said Sholeh.
He also prayed that Prabowo could lead the country so that all parties could remain united.
“Mr. Prabowo, stay healthy and (hopefully) can lead this country to remain united in diversity, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,” he said.
At the location, not only Jokowi and Prabowo were present, but also several artists and 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 all appeared to be wearing plain white shirts. (SENOPATI)
