Golkar Legislator Jokes About 'BRAN or Gibran' During Agrarian Reform Bill Meeting

Ahmad Irawan, a member of the DPR Legislation Committee from the Golkar Faction, made a remark regarding Gibran’s name during a meeting discussing the Agrarian Reform Bill. The remark was made while Irawan was providing his views on the nomenclature of the agency that will eventually manage agrarian reform regulations.

The DPR Legislation Committee and the government held a working meeting in the Legislation Committee room, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (18/09/2026). The Committee and the government engaged in a debate regarding the nomenclature of the body that will oversee agrarian reform regulations.

The Committee requested that the nomenclature of the body be explicitly stated in the law, whereas the government proposed that the regulation be established through a Presidential Regulation (Perpres).

Irawan was given the opportunity to present his views. He initially stated that the debate regarding the nomenclature had actually been discussed and agreed upon in a meeting on Thursday (17/09).

“Excuse me, Sir. One principle that I understand from the progress of our discussions is that this has already been agreed upon; that is one thing. We discussed it at length yesterday,” said Irawan.

However, Irawan understood that the formation of a state institution through a Presidential Decree (Keppres), Presidential Regulation (Perpres), Government Regulation (PP), or Law could affect the institution’s performance.

“That is all a matter of gradation. The institutional structure will affect its future performance, Sir. Especially since this will face ministries—so-called ministries that possess very significant authority, such as Agrarian Affairs, Forestry, and others, including the Ministry of Finance,” he explained.

“Therefore, we took a middle ground yesterday, Sir. In reality, we have already included the matters of its duties, functions, and authorities. This means it is essentially a choice between the President and the DPR,” he continued.

In his view, the most important thing is to ensure the authority of the body. He then made a remark regarding the name of the agency.

“If it is merely a matter of the name, this is BRAN. BRAN or Gibran, Sir?” said Irawan.

The Chairman of the Legislation Committee, Bob Hasan, responded by allowing Irawan to decide whether the name should be BRAN or Gibran.

“Huh? BRAN or Gibran?” Bob asked.

“It depends, Mr. Irawan, which one do you agree with?” Bob continued.

Irawan then continued his presentation, stating that the nomenclature was not a significant issue.

“In my opinion, if it is only a matter of the name, it is not a significant issue regarding the duties, functions, and authority, nor where this institution is placed under the President and responsible to the President. I believe this is something the Leadership can discuss, not something we must debate extensively. This means we should proceed to other matters,” said Irawan.