A diplomatic flap over 30 tons of rice sent from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to flood‑hit Medan, North Sumatra, has taken a new turn. After local authorities said the shipment would be returned in line with Jakarta’s policy of rejecting foreign disaster aid, Indonesia’s Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian has now confirmed that the rice will stay in the country and be distributed to survivors through the Muhammadiyah humanitarian network.

Image Illustration. Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash

The controversy around the UEA consignment has raised broader questions about transparency, coordination and sovereignty in Indonesia’s disaster response. It also highlights the tension between a new national stance that emphasizes self‑reliance and the very real needs of thousands of families whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by flooding across Sumatra.

From Aid Ceremony to Public Backlash

The 30‑ton rice shipment arrived in Medan in mid‑December as part of a broader humanitarian package from the UAE, which also included hundreds of food, baby‑care and worship kits for flood victims. Local officials said the aid was handed over at the city’s PKK building by UAE diplomatic representatives, with 30 tons of rice and around 300 additional family packages prepared for distribution to evacuees. At that point, local authorities publicly welcomed the assistance as an expression of solidarity from the Gulf state.

But within days, the City of Medan abruptly announced that the 30 tons of rice would be shipped back. Mayor Rico Waas said his team had consulted the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Ministry of Defense and concluded that, under central government rules, foreign assistance for the Sumatra disaster response could not yet be formally accepted. He stated that the cargo, including the rice, had therefore been returned to the UAE “in full” and in unused condition, in line with Jakarta’s decision to handle the crisis without external aid. The municipality emphasized that logistical costs for the purported return would be borne by the donor, not by the local budget.

Jakarta’s Self‑Reliance Policy on Disaster Aid

The initial decision to send the rice back did not happen in a vacuum. In Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly signaled that Indonesia intends to manage the latest wave of floods and landslides in Sumatra with domestic resources. He told a cabinet meeting that several foreign leaders had phoned to offer help but that Indonesia remained capable of handling the crisis itself. According to local reports, Prabowo informed counterparts that “Indonesia is able to cope” with the emergency and therefore declined formal foreign assistance for the time being, in line with a broader emphasis on national resilience. This posture mirrors previous administrations which, at certain times, limited foreign involvement to avoid overlapping command structures and to protect sensitive infrastructure in disaster zones.

Indonesia is among the countries most exposed to climate‑related disasters, including floods and landslides. Government data show that between 2015 and 2023, floods were consistently the single most frequent disaster type recorded each year in the archipelago, often affecting hundreds of thousands of people annually. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has documented thousands of flood events in that period, with flood incidents accounting for a substantial share of all disasters recorded in Indonesia’s official disaster data portal. Against that backdrop, the government has invested heavily in domestic logistics and stockpiles, partly to reduce dependence on ad hoc foreign contributions.

Clarification: ‘Not From the UAE Government’

As criticism mounted over what many Indonesians saw as a tone‑deaf rejection of urgently needed food, the central government moved to clarify the status of the shipment. Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the rice would not, in fact, be sent back. He explained that the consignment came not from the UAE government but from the UAE Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization analogous to a national Red Cross society. In a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma air base on 19 December, Tito said the UAE’s Red Crescent — not the state — was behind the 30‑ton donation, putting it in a different category from formal interstate aid subject to Prabowo’s moratorium. Because of that distinction, he said, there was no obligation to reject or repatriate the rice, and the shipment “was never actually sent back.”

So Where Is the Rice Now?

According to Tito’s explanation, the 30 tons of rice are now being channeled through Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia’s largest Muslim social organizations, which operates an extensive network of hospitals, clinics, schools and humanitarian posts nationwide. The minister said the rice had been handed over to the Muhammadiyah Medical Center, which had set up emergency posts in Medan and other affected areas, to ensure it reaches evacuees and vulnerable households more quickly and with less bureaucratic friction. Muhammadiyah’s humanitarian arm, which has decades of experience responding to floods, tsunamis and earthquakes, routinely partners with both domestic agencies and international NGOs to deliver food, shelter and medical care in emergencies.

Indonesia’s civil‑society networks are a core part of its disaster response architecture. The country’s National Medium‑Term Development Plan explicitly recognizes the role of faith‑based organizations in disaster risk reduction and emergency management, and BNPB routinely coordinates with groups such as Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC) and Nahdlatul Ulama’s relief agencies.

Medan’s Flood Victims Still Struggle

While the political debate has focused on sovereignty and protocol, conditions on the ground remain precarious. Floods and landslides in North Sumatra have inundated large sections of Medan and surrounding districts, forcing thousands into temporary shelters and damaging homes, schools and small businesses. Earlier reports from the Medan city government indicated that much of the city had yet to recover fully, with many neighborhoods still struggling with high water, damaged infrastructure and disrupted livelihoods. The World Bank has previously estimated that, nationwide, flooding causes billions of dollars in economic losses every year, underscoring how even relatively small consignments of emergency food can make a significant difference to local recovery efforts.

In Indonesia’s wider disaster landscape, data compiled by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery show that floods and landslides repeatedly rank among the country’s most damaging hazards, affecting millions of people over the past decade and creating chronic needs for food, clean water and temporary shelter.

Lessons for Future Aid Controversies

The saga of the 30‑ton UAE rice shipment reveals how quickly conflicting narratives can emerge in a fast‑moving disaster: a city publicly returns aid in the morning, while the central government insists by afternoon that nothing has actually been sent back. For affected communities, the episode risks eroding trust in authorities at precisely the moment when clear, consistent communication is most needed.

Analysts say the incident underscores the importance of transparent protocols for accepting or declining foreign assistance, especially when domestic political messages about self‑reliance intersect with highly visible humanitarian gestures from abroad. Clearer guidance to local governments—on how to treat aid from foreign NGOs versus foreign states—could help prevent similar confusion in future crises.

Conclusion: Rice Stays, Questions Remain

For now, the answer to the question “Where is the 30‑ton UAE rice aid?” appears relatively straightforward: according to Indonesia’s home affairs minister, it is in the custody of Muhammadiyah’s humanitarian network and is being readied for distribution to flood victims in and around Medan.

Yet the political storm it triggered is unlikely to dissipate so quickly. The episode has drawn rare public attention to how Indonesia calibrates its disaster diplomacy—balancing national pride and control against the practical benefits of international solidarity. As climate‑driven extremes intensify and floods become more frequent and destructive, the country will face growing pressure to refine those choices, ensuring that no bureaucratic dispute ever again delays basic food aid for families standing ankle‑deep in muddy water.