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uslims in the country appear to be tolerant toward food stalls remaining open during the day during Ramadhan, despite many local administrations having banned the stalls from operating and often deploying officers to raid them.

In fact, large numbers have given donations to food sellers who were raided by local governments determined to punish vendors who conduct business during the holy month.

On Friday afternoon, Saeni, 53, and other food sellers in Serang, Banten, had their food seized and their stalls closed down by the city’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP).

The agency claimed that the sellers had violated Serang Regulation No. 2/2010 on the prevention, eradication and control of social diseases, which stipulates that food stalls should not be open in the afternoon during Ramadhan.

A video showed Saeni crying and asking the officers not to seize her food went viral on social media on Saturday, and was shown on TV, attracting public rebuke of the Serang administration.

Among the upset members of the public was social media influencer and stand-up comedian Dwika Putra, who immediately initiated a fundraising movement for the sellers, including Saeni, in an attempt to help them recover costs.

Communicating with the public via Twitter on Saturday, Dwika closed the fundraising campaign in the afternoon with donations having reached Rp 265 million (US$20,380)

“No-one expected that in less than 36 hours reactions and responses would be this much,” said Dwika in a tweet on Sunday. “The donations are not about politics, religion, or anything. It is about humanity when we see people in trouble.”

The funds, Dwika added, will be distributed with the help of humanitarian organization Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) and donation portal KitaBisa.com.

Saeni, known as Eni, had tears streaming down her cheeks after learning of the viral movement collecting hundreds of millions of rupiah for her and other unfortunate food sellers in Serang.

“I have never had that much money before,” Eni sobbed. “I will use the funds to pay for my child’s university tuition fees, as well as my debts.”

Eni was then lost for words as she tried to calm herself, suffering from breathing problems due to shock.

The public response to the raids eventually reached President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who sent a delegation to hand Rp 10 million to Eni.

“They told me to [use it to] pay all my debts,” said Eni.

The raids have also attracted the attention of Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, who both disagree with the Serang Satpol PP’s measures.

Kalla said on Sunday that no authorities, including the Serang administration, were to ban food sellers from trading in the afternoons during Ramadhan, because there were many people not fasting, such as ill people and pregnant women, as well as people from other religions.

Besides, Kalla added, food sellers surely know that to respect fasting people they must install curtains to hide the food.

Like Kalla, Tjahjo also called on all authorities in the country, including the Serang Satpol PP, not to “overreact”.

“Should Satpol PP provide instructions for regional heads, please be sympathetic and prioritize counseling. Don’t overreact so that public becomes unsympathetic to regional administrations or the central government,” said Tjahjo in a press release on Sunday.