“I will not say anything, I just want to listen to the honorable rulers, sultans, princes and princesses who are present today about problems that they face in their respective regions,” the President said.

Tribal leaders and heads of kingdoms attending the event praised Jokowi’s initiative to meet with them, saying it showed his commitment to preserving cultural heritage.

“We highly appreciate this move,” said Edward Syah Pernong, the sultan of Kepaksian Skala Brak in Lampung.

“From September to January, we have met Pak Jokowi four times. We met him in Cirebon [West Java], Medan [North Sumatra] and twice at this palace. The President not only respects us, he truly loves our culture and us.”

 After listening to the leaders’ insights, Jokowi promised he would find solutions to the problems they faced, including allocating funds to revitalize damaged palaces.

“I want the palaces totally renovated. Maybe we can fix three or five palaces every year. I will estimate the budget first,” he said.

Jokowi said he would hold a limited meeting to discuss fund allocation and the issuance of the palaces’ land certificates.  (ebf)

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