Bima Arya Pushes for Efficiency and Comprehensive Reform of Regional-Owned Enterprises

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to promoting bureaucratic efficiency while accelerating reforms in Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD). This is aimed at realising more accountable and adaptive governance. Bima highlighted the strategic position of BUMDs, which hold significant potential but are not yet matched by optimal company health. According to data from the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP), the performance of BUMDs in the drinking water services and miscellaneous businesses sectors is still dominated by unhealthy categories, with 21.1 per cent unhealthy, 36.8 per cent less healthy, and only 42 per cent considered healthy. “BUMDs are one of the key assets as well as the biggest sources of problems in this Republic. With the existing assets, they should be highly potential, but they are not accompanied by healthy BUMDs,” Bima stated in a written statement on Wednesday (1/4/2026). He conveyed this during the Specific Working Visit of Commission II of the DPR RI to PT Bank Sumut at the PT Bank Sumut Head Office in Medan. Furthermore, in response to this situation, the government together with Commission II of the DPR RI is preparing regulatory steps through the drafting of the BUMD Bill. This policy is expected to serve as the foundation for strengthening governance and addressing various challenges faced by BUMDs in the regions. According to him, the regulation will bring about several fundamental changes, one of which is the separation of performance indicators between financial aspects and public services, which have previously been mixed. “First, it is proposed that there will be a separation between KPIs that are financial in nature, financial reports, or public services. Because so far they have been mixed up,” he explained. In addition, the government is also pushing for the separation of roles of regional governments (Pemda) as regulators and capital owners to create more professional governance and avoid conflicts of interest. Bima added that flexibility in asset management and access to funding is an important part to make BUMDs more adaptive in developing businesses. “And third is access to funding and more flexible asset management. So not rigid,” he added. He emphasised that all these steps ultimately aim to strengthen government governance and more accountable regional financial management. “All of this ultimately is to present government governance and financial management that is more accountable,” he concluded. The event was also attended by Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR RI Bahtra Banong, Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR RI Dede Yusuf Macan Effendi, Governor of North Sumatra Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution, President Director of PT Bank Sumut Heru Mardiansyah, and other related parties.