Over 9,000 noodle sellers and over 1,600 construction workers and their families headed to their hometowns on buses sponsored by companies on Thursday.
The instant noodle producer, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, provided the transport for the noodle sellers, while the workers were given a free ride by a building materials company, PT Jaya Board.
"This is an annual event that has been held 16 times," Mustofa, the director of the Jakarta branch of Indofood and the event's coordinator , said during the departure ceremony at the Kemayoran's Pekan Raya Jakarta parking lot, Central Jakarta.
To list those entitled to the free exodus, the company regularly carries out a census in the nooks and crannies of Jakarta and Greater Jakarta, Mustofa said.
The company also recorded food sellers who use the company's brand of noodles: Mie Telor Cap 3 Ayam.
This year, the company listed 5,086 stalls that can benefit from the event. The owners of those stalls, along with their families and acquaintances, totalled 9,065 participants. Most of the buses were going to Kuningan and Sumedang in West Java.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno witnessed the departure of most of the buses.
"Food stalls play an important role in supporting the economy's real sector," he said.
Wahyudin, a 63-year-old father of four, said that he had been selling instant noodles before the Indomie brand even existed.
"I have been running a stall since 1975, and I began selling Indomie in 1978," he said.
The 1,620 construction workers and their families, departing from Jakarta Police headquarters, headed towards several major cities including, Purwokerto, Semarang, Solo, Yogyakarta, Malang, and Surabaya, using 36 buses provided by the company.
Jayaboard's president director, Gavin Burton, told reporters the free mudik service was one of the company's social responsibility programs
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