Gotong Royong Government in Bumi Handayani
Eighty-one years ago the nation’s founders proclaimed independence for all the people. Gunungkidul Regent Endah Subekti Kuntariningsih interprets the way to fill independence by innovating and working together in mutual cooperation as the spirit of development in this region nicknamed Bumi Handayani. The mutual cooperation that remains preserved in the hearts of Gunungkidul residents is in line with Bung Karno’s message in the speech on the birth of Pancasila on 1 June 1945. Mutual cooperation is the joint breaking of bones, the joint squeezing of sweat, the struggle of helping one another. Deeds of all for the benefit of all. Sweat of all for the happiness of all. Holopis kuntul baris for the common interest.
“The Gotong Royong Government innovation serves as a bridge between potential and prosperity, a collaboration of the government, the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the Indonesian National Police, the Regional People’s Representative Council, universities, the business world, and the community,” said Endah. “Innovation without mutual cooperation is merely a project; mutual cooperation without innovation is only communal work. The two must be united.”
The Gotong Royong Government is translated through seven strategic programmes, namely Bocah Pinter for education; Warga Sehat for health; Tani Makmur and Empowered Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) for the economy; Gunungkidul Berdikari for economic self-reliance; Pamong Nglayani and Ngayomi for governance; Warga Gayeng-Guyub for social culture; and Alam Lestari for the environment.
The Bocah Pinter programme gave birth to the Gunungkidul Brave to School Movement (Geni Seko Gunung) innovation to boost the average length of schooling, which previously stood at 7.64 years. In the programme launched on 19 May 2025, the Gunungkidul Regency Government allocated around Rp 2.2 billion so that residents aged over 24 could return to school. As a result, the average length of schooling grew by 3.95 per cent, the highest among all components of the Human Development Index (HDI).
Tani Makmur and UMKM Berdaya produced the Regional People’s Business Credit (Kurda) innovation, namely low-cost financing for micro enterprises through a regional-owned enterprise, plus a policy of defending and buying local products that requires government and regional-owned enterprise spending to absorb local UMKM and cooperative products.
There is also a digital transformation of government with the Electronic-Based Government System Index (SPBE) moving from 2.49 (2021) to 3.96 (2024) and 4.07 (2025). The impact is real and measurable. Economic growth in 2025 reached 5.47 per cent, with household consumption as the largest contributor. Tourism is strengthening. In the first half of 2026, the number of tourists reached 2.9 million visits, generating regional original tourism revenue of Rp 35.8 billion, nearly matching the full-year target. The poverty rate also fell by 1.03 points to 14.15 per cent.
Improvements in governance through Pamong Nglayani and Ngayomi have succeeded in shifting the bureaucratic paradigm from being served to serving. There are various services that come to residents. The SIAKMADU innovation brings hearings for the issuance of death certificates to village halls together with the Wonosari District Court. The TANDUKRUSA innovation issues population documents immediately after a couple marries through cooperation between the Population and Civil Registration Service and the religious affairs office (KUA).
The BULAN SABIT innovation ensures that all population documents for mothers who have just given birth are issued at once. There is also the Gerakan Pambelo Sungkowo (GPS) innovation, whereby when a resident dies and is reported, the death certificate can be immediately issued and handed over on the day of the funeral. There is also the digitalisation of financial transactions and services through non-cash payments for permits and levies to close leakage gaps and increase accountability. Tourism levy posts are strengthened with CCTV and supervision. The Gotong Royong Government, according to Endah, creates a work culture in which service does not stop at the bureaucratic desk.
Entering the 81st year of Indonesian independence, Endah is confident that Indonesia’s progress is not determined solely by rapid growth in one or two regions. “Indonesia will advance when regions like Gunungkidul are given equal space for acceleration,” she said. “Our greatest contribution is born precisely from the attitude that we do not surrender to limitations.”