"On stage, the three local officials showcased their ability to become stand-up comedians. The first act was performed by the Regent of Trenggalek, Mochamad Nur Arifin, who is affectionately called Gus Ipin. The Regent recounted his funny experiences when he served as the Vice Regent and Regent. 'It was indeed sad when I was the Vice Regent, as the Vice is considered a 'KW' Regent. Now I am the original Regent,' said Gus Ipin, who once served as the Vice Regent of Trenggalek alongside Emil Dardak."

"I was told to run because it was about to start. Well, I just followed and ran and then met Pakde Karwo (the Governor of East Java at that time). When asked why I ran, I said it was because the event had started. Pakde Karwo said, it was the students who were told to run. So, they thought I was a student," said Gus Ipin, greeted with laughter. One of the funniest parts of Gus Ipin's performance was when he honestly presented jokes about the 2024 Election results."

"After Gus Ipin, the performance was continued by Asdar Ibrahim, Expert Staff in the field of Development, Community, and Human Resources of Bontang City, East Kalimantan, representing the Mayor, Riza Indra Riadi, who couldn't attend. Asdar successfully presented an entertaining comedy on stage by showcasing Bontang's culture through the performance he delivered, such as the distinctive characteristic of Bontang City which is synonymous with birds."

The idea of using udeng arose during a meeting attended by a row of officials from Bontang City, where coincidentally the officials were bald-headed. "Mr. Mayor suddenly said, how about we protect the heads of these bald-headed people. How about we create a distinctive feature of Bontang, and thus the udeng was born," said Asdar. Asdar's humorous appearance was then continued by Zainul Effendi Joesoef, the Acting Officer of Diskominfo of Kutai Kartanegara Regency, who replaced the Deputy Regent, Rendi Solihin.

In its appearance, he tells about the specialness of the number 17 in Kutai. This is also a reference to the travel budget which always amounts to Rp 170 thousand, whether it's near or far. "In Kutai, 17 is a sacred number. So wherever the business trip is, it's still 170 thousand," said Zainul during his appearance yesterday. "Even for an 8-hour trip, it's still 170 thousand," he added.

"Maybe (in the future) we can have a battle of roasting, so the Regent of Trenggalek with one stand-up comedian from Trenggalek, like that, maybe we roast the people and the people roast us, and finally we have a political dialogue. Sometimes we need such ways to communicate," he explained.

The presence of the second event of Merdeka.com, the Editor-in-Chief Darojatun stated that Open Mic is one of the signature programs owned by Merdeka.com. Through this program, Merdeka.com challenges local officials to entertain the public with jokes. "Open Mic trains all of us to laugh at ourselves so that we become more magnanimous," said Darojatun in front of the attending officials.

In addition to the impressive appearances of the three officials, Open Mic Merdeka was also adorned with a special performance from a domestic beatboxer, Adi Kerang, who has just returned from Germany to attend a beatbox competition representing Indonesia. For Dream friends who want to witness this exciting event, you can watch the full video on Vidio.com on June 5, 2024.