Magelang – Sholeh, the owner of a street food meatball stall in the Bandongan District, Magelang, was overjoyed. His stall was visited by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto on Monday (29/1) afternoon.
His street food stall became a stopover for Jokowi and Prabowo to eat meatballs together after attending the inauguration of the Graha Utama at the Military Academy (Akmil) in Magelang.
“Today, on January 29, Alhamdulillah, my stall was visited by unexpected guests, RI 1 Mr. Jokowi and Mr. Prabowo, who came to my stall in Bandongan,” said Sholeh happily.
Sholeh was very grateful that their dining together at his place went smoothly. According to him, Jokowi and Prabowo seemed to enjoy their chewy meatball dish with the addition of fresh coconut water.
Previously, he admitted that he doubted his ability to prepare hundreds of portions of chewy meatballs a day before Jokowi and Prabowo’s visit. In addition to preparing meatball dishes for the two of them, he also made 400 portions to be given for free to the residents.
“The day before, the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) came to me and asked for permission for a state visitor,” Sholeh said.
“I asked myself, can I do it or not? Actually, I had doubts, but I was optimistic that I had to be able to do it and be strong. It turns out that everything can go smoothly now,” he continued.
Sholeh also mentioned that his family was very happy to have a photo taken with Jokowi and Prabowo. Moreover, he and his elementary school-age son were very happy to have the opportunity to shake hands directly with Prabowo.
“We also shook hands with Mr. Prabowo. Here’s the photo. Alhamdulillah, I never expected it,” said Sholeh.
He considered Prabowo, whom he met for the first time, to be very kind and friendly. “From my personal point of view, he’s good. I can’t put it into words. He even ate my meatballs,” he explained.
Sholeh revealed that during the handshaking moment, Prabowo wished him success in his chewy meatball business. “He said, ‘success always’ (from Prabowo),” Sholeh said.
He also prayed for Prabowo to be able to lead the country so that all parties could remain united.
“Mr. Prabowo, be healthy always and (hopefully) can lead this country to remain united in diversity,” he said.
At the location, not only Jokowi and Prabowo were present, but also several celebrities 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 wearing plain white shirts. (SENOPATI)
