DPD: Archipelagic Regions Bill a Gift for the Community

Jakarta (ANTARA) - DPD Chairman Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin has said the Bill on Archipelagic Regions is a gift for the people who have long awaited a legal umbrella for their special needs.

Sultan, in a press conference following the 2026 MPR Annual Session and the Joint Session of the DPR and DPD at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, welcomed President Prabowo Subianto’s state address, in which he urged the completion of the DPD-initiated bill.

“The Presidential Letter came down several months ago and is now being deliberated. In fact, beyond our expectations, the President said it will be completed. That is something extraordinary for us. Why? Because it is a gift for the people of archipelagic regions, who number in the tens of millions,” he said.

According to Sultan, the Archipelagic Regions Bill is important to enact. He said tens of millions of people in archipelagic regions are waiting for a regulation at the level of a law to protect their rights.

“If there is no legal umbrella at the level of a law, the treatment of archipelagic regions will not be the same as other regions, such as state budget funds flowing to the regions, because infrastructure in archipelagic regions is not yet on par with infrastructure in non-archipelagic regions,” he said.

Sultan, in his speech during the joint session, said the DPD has proposed the Archipelagic Regions Bill since 2017. After years of struggle, the bill is now included in the 2026 Priority National Legislation Programme.

For that reason, on behalf of millions of people in archipelagic regions, the DPD expressed its appreciation to President Prabowo and the DPR for the commencement of deliberations on the Archipelagic Regions Bill.

“We are confident and believe that this bill will be enacted as a historic milestone and an important legacy of President Prabowo’s administration in delivering development justice and strengthening Indonesia as an archipelagic nation,” Sultan said.