A police officer with a sniffer dog inspecting the Jakarta Cathedral on Dec 23, 2025, in preparations for mass in Central Jakarta. - Reuters
JAKARTA/MEDAN: With the 2025 year-end holiday fast approaching, the National Police have stepped up security measures nationwide, deploying hundreds of thousands of personnel to ensure the public can celebrate Christmas and New Year safely.
The police have launched the annual nationwide Operasi Lilin, or Operation Candle, to ensure public safety and maintain order at churches, tourism sites and transport hubs during the year-end holidays
The operation, scheduled to run for two weeks from Dec 20 to Jan 2, has deployed around 146,000 personnel from the police, the military and various government agencies.
In Jakarta and its satellite cities, the police are prioritizing security at places of worship that require a higher level of protection, with more than 5,000 joint personnel deployed.
"We are securing places of worship and increasing protection at churches deemed high-risk. Enhanced security is in place at 14 churches across Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, East Jakarta and Bekasi," Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Asep Edi Suheri said in a statement on Monday.
The police have also deployed more than 11,000 personnel to disaster-affected areas in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra to assist with relief efforts and help restore churches ahead of Christmas celebrations, according to National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo.
“In North Sumatra, 32 churches across three regencies were affected. We are helping with the clean-up,” Listyo said.
“In South Tapanuli regency, three out of four churches are now usable. Nine churches in Langkat regency are now operational, and 12 of 19 churches in Central Tapanuli regency have been restored.”
Survivors taking refuge at the Batak Protestant Church Sibalanga in North Tapanuli regency have been working together to clean up the church for Christmas and Sunday services.
“Even though we will be sitting on mats, the coming Christmas celebrations and the Sunday service at the shelter in Sibalanga church will take place solemnly," Dennis Sitompul, one of the survivors, said on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in the country, preparations for Christmas are ongoing at churches, such as at the St. Theresia Bongsari Catholic Church in Semarang, Central Java, where tents have been set up to accommodate worshipers.
High school student Ignasia Julie Aristawati said she has been preparing for a month to serve as an altar server for the Christmas mass at Athanasius Agung Church, also in Semarang.
“My family will attend mass together in the morning of Dec. 25.”
On Tuesday, Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi inspected a rest stop on a toll road in Semarang and major travel routes to ensure smooth traffic flows and safety of traveLlers.
“Central Java is a key transit point, and rest stops are vital to ensure travelers stay healthy and reach their destinations safely,” Luthfi said, noting that around 8.7 million people are expected to travel within or through Central Java during the holidays.
His statement came a day after an intercity bus en route to Yogyakarta from Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta crashed into a road barrier on the Semarang toll road and flipped over, killing at least 16 out of 34 passengers on board.
Authorities in Central Java have also urged people to exercise caution over potential extreme weather, floods and landslides at the end of December following weather alerts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). - The Jakarta Post/ANN
