Bima Arya Calls Regional Heads 'Fighters' Amid Five Challenges
Deputy Home Affairs Minister (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto has described regional heads as ‘fighters’. This is because regional heads must face various challenges in carrying out their leadership and providing services to the public.
Bima conveyed this at the 2026 Regional Leaders Awards event at the Jakarta Concert Hall (JCH), iNews Tower Building, MNC Center, Jakarta, on Thursday (27/8). Bima said every leader faces challenges according to their era. According to him, regional heads today face at least five main challenges.
First, regional heads must oversee national strategic programmes. Second, they must realise campaign promises to the public. Third, they must remain focused on providing basic services and meeting established service standards. Fourth, they must work amid today’s very sharp and critical media algorithms. Fifth, they must carry out their duties within a clear legal corridor.
“If today regional heads receive awards, they are indeed fighters. At the retreat, we called them fighters,” Bima said in a written statement on Friday (28/8/2026).
High resilience and consistency are greatly needed in maintaining the quality of public services. This award is expected not to be merely a symbol of the regional head’s personal achievement. The trophy is a form of real appreciation for all parties implementing pro-people programmes.
Awards of this kind are expected to inspire the wider public. Representing the Home Affairs Minister, Bima also congratulated all elected regional heads.
“On behalf of the Home Affairs Minister, we congratulate the fighters who have proven they can work and continue to focus on serving the people amid various limitations,” he said.
The 2026 Regional Leaders Awards is an appreciation stage produced by iNews Media Group. The event highlights regional leaders and institutions that have been most successful in producing innovation. A number of state officials and heads of institutions also enlivened the awards night.
National-level awards were given to a number of ministries and institutions for their contribution to regional development. The Ministry of Home Affairs was appreciated for accelerating national priority programmes, followed by Bakom RI for digital communication transformation. The Ministry of MSMEs together with the Ministry of Cooperatives also received trophies for accelerating people’s economic collaboration.
The Public Service category was dominated by the Makassar City Government, Malang City Government, Bogor Police, and the East Halmahera, Pasuruan, Sumedang, Tangerang and Karawang Regency Governments. The Banten Provincial Government then led the awards in the Infrastructure Development category. Similar achievements were followed by the Serang City Government, Pekanbaru City Government, and the Lamongan, Subang and Aceh Tamiang Regency Governments.
The Regional Economic Development sector was won by the Surabaya, Magelang and Batam City Governments, together with the Kendal, Gayo Lues and Southwest Aceh Regency Governments. The Regional Innovation category was won by the Banda Aceh, Jambi, Sungai Penuh, Medan and Subulussalam City Governments, as well as the Malinau Regency Government. Finally, the Bandar Lampung City Government emerged as the winner in the Tourism and MSME Development category.