Governor of East Kalimantan Rudy Mas'ud's Response After Being Protested by Residents
Governor of East Kalimantan Rudy Mas’ud spoke out after being protested by thousands of his constituents on Tuesday, 21 April 2026. Rudy’s statement was delivered via a video message uploaded to his Instagram account @h.rudymasud on Wednesday, 22 April 2026.
Rudy expressed thanks to the students and the entire community, along with the TNI and Police, for maintaining a conducive situation during the demonstration. “We very much hope that our student siblings, the community, and all levels can always serve as our eyes and ears in carrying out improvements and evaluations of the performance of the East Kalimantan Provincial Government in implementing social control as well as comprehensive evaluations,” said Rudy.
Rudy stated that the future of East Kalimantan ultimately rests in the hands of the students. “We hope that going forward, we and the entire East Kalimantan Provincial Government can accelerate efforts to improve our performance in the future,” he remarked.
Yesterday, residents of East Kalimantan demonstrated at the Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) building and the East Kalimantan Governor’s office. Field Coordinator of the East Kalimantan People’s Struggle Alliance, Erly Sopiansyah, said that thousands of people joined the rally protesting Rudy’s policies.
Erly, representing the general public, said they demonstrated from morning until evening. “From the general public, there were around 1,500 people, plus more than 1,000 students,” he said via telephone on Tuesday, 21 April 2026.
The community, he said, demanded that the DPRD evaluate all of Governor Rudy’s policies. “They must be evaluated. I shouted earlier too, if possible, the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) should thoroughly investigate all policies issued by the Governor,” said Erly.
Erly conveyed that the crowd did not meet Rudy Mas’ud during the demonstration that day. However, they held an audience with members of the East Kalimantan DPRD, who then promised to follow up on the residents’ demands.
Deputy Chairman I of the East Kalimantan DPRD, Ekti Imanuel, met with the demonstrating crowd in front of his office. Ekti agreed to sign an integrity pact from the demonstrators, which contained a commitment to be politically and morally accountable to the community and to carry out all the demands.
The demands included a total audit of the East Kalimantan Provincial Government policies, including budget usage deemed not beneficial to the community. In addition, there were demands to stop practices of corruption, collusion, and nepotism. The community also demanded that the DPRD carry out its oversight function over the regional government.
Rudy was protested after the procurement of an official vehicle worth Rp8.5 billion and renovations to the official residence reaching Rp25 billion came to public attention. “At a time when the economy is tough for the people of East Kalimantan. On the other hand, our Governor is recklessly spending the regional budget as he pleases,” said Erly on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
In addition, other policies of Rudy were questioned by the community, such as the Rp10.5 billion budget for an expert team and plans for official residence renovations. Residents also highlighted the provincial government’s policy of shifting the burden of BPJS Health contributions for tens of thousands of underprivileged residents back to district/city governments.
Facing criticism, Rudy returned the new official vehicle procured from the 2025 Revised Regional Budget worth Rp8.49 billion, which had caused a stir on social media.
Head of the East Kalimantan Communication and Informatics Office (Diskominfo), Muhammad Faisal, in Samarinda on Sunday, emphasised that this step was a form of the Governor’s sensitivity to social dynamics in the Etam Continent. According to Faisal, this strategic decision was taken after in-depth consultations with various state oversight institutions.
“Mr. Governor has considered input from the Ministry of Home Affairs, KPK, and BPK. He also directly heard the concerns of community leaders and religious figures. As a leader who upholds the mandate, he chose to prioritise harmony and public trust over official facilities,” said Faisal on 1 March 2026, quoted from Antara.
Faisal explained that the official vehicle, a Range Rover 3.0 LWB Autobiography PHEV P460e worth Rp8.49 billion, was known to have just gone through the handover process on 20 November 2025. However, Faisal assured that the vehicle had not yet touched the roads of East Kalimantan.
Antara reported that the background of Rudy Mas’ud’s family lineage also became a catalyst for strengthening the narrative of political dynasties in East Kalimantan and driving mass actions. The public highlighted the strategic positions of his siblings, including Hasanuddin Mas’ud, Rudy’s older brother, who serves as Chairman of the East Kalimantan DPRD.