Forkopimda and Stakeholders Synergy: Concrete Action to Build Bontang
The Bontang city government in East Kalimantan held a 2026 Coordination Meeting of the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) and stakeholders with the theme “Forkopimda and Stakeholders Synergy to Accelerate a Prosperous and Sustainable Bontang”.
Deputy Mayor Agus Haris, reading the speech of Mayor Neni Moerniaeni, asserted that collaboration between government, business, and the community is not merely ceremonial but is key to resolving the city’s fundamental problems. He stressed that the meeting must produce concrete action. “After this there must be follow-up. We need to know clearly who is doing what, where, for whom, what the value is, when it will be implemented, and how to measure its success,” he said.
The Bontang city government hopes the forum can produce a structured Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) collaboration map, particularly for the 2027 programme. “We want programmes that we can agree upon, companies that become partners, regional apparatus that serve as liaisons, clear locations, measurable targets, and success indicators,” Agus said.
Agus highlighted an irony that has shadowed Bontang for 25 years. On one hand, Bontang is known as one of the richest cities in Indonesia, even ranking first for regions outside Java with a per capita GRDP of Rp363.4 million. Yet unemployment and poverty have been serious problems. “Bontang is an industrial city, but its unemployment rate is very high. Bontang is an industrial city, one of the richest cities in Indonesia, we are number three among the richest cities. But its poverty is very high,” he said.
There is good news, however. In one year of Mayor Neni Moerniaeni’s leadership, thanks to collaboration with companies, the two main problems have been reduced. “Unemployment is now gone. We are number one in East Kalimantan for the lowest unemployment. This is thanks to the efforts of all companies. Likewise, poverty, which was previously the highest, thank God we are now just below the average. This is no longer an issue,” he explained.
Agus asserted that government, business, and the community share the same interests. “Companies need a healthy, safe, and conducive business environment. The government needs quality development. And the community needs a more prosperous life. The three must not operate in isolation,” he said.
He also clarified the purpose of the government’s presence in the forum. “The Bontang city government is not present in this forum to beg from companies. Instead, we are here to invite the entire business world, all companies, to become highly strategic partners in building a city, namely Bontang,” he declared.
In the economic sector, the government is encouraging the strengthening of MSMEs, fishing groups, and the provision of added value for local economic actors and other economic potentials. In the employment sector, the government is pushing for improved community competence so that people are more prepared to enter the workforce and able to benefit from industrial growth.
“We want TJSL not only to solve today’s problems but also to build community self-reliance for the future,” Agus stressed.
Agus also mentioned the importance of completing the Regional Spatial Planning Regulation (RTRW) to provide certainty for the business world. “The RTRW is the development corridor. If it is still unstable, we sometimes want to go left, then suddenly right again, then suddenly want to go straight, then back again,” he complained.
He also revealed plans to build a hotel at the mayor’s official residence. “Because guests from the centre, the President, Ministers, DPR, Ministries, never stay overnight in Bontang. Most recently with the Minister of Home Affairs, five people came. They did not stay overnight, they came ready for the event, then went straight to Samarinda,” he recounted.
Present at the Forkopimda coordination meeting were a number of regional leaders and relevant agencies, including Bontang DPRD Chairman Andi Faizal Sofyan Hasdam, Head of the Bontang District Attorney’s Office Beni Putra, Commander of Military District Command 0908/Bontang Lieutenant Colonel Infantry Ardiansyah, Bontang Police Chief AKBP Anak Agung Gede Wibowo Sitepu, and Bontang District Court Chairman Rahmat Dahlan. Also present were Head of BNNK Bontang Lulyana Ramdani, Acting Regional Secretary of Bontang Akhmad Suharto, Assistant for Economy and Development Sony Suwito Adicahyono, and Head of External Relation Operation East Region of PT Pertamina Gas Muhammad Putra Dewanto, as well as a number of companies operating in Bontang.