Iqbal Stresses New Sade Traditional Village Design Must Be Disaster-Resistant

The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) will carry out reconstruction of the former house structures in the Sade Traditional Village, Pujut District, Central Lombok. This is being done to determine the design for the rebuilding process following the fire.

NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal said that discussion of the reconstruction plan was decided at a coordination meeting held with the Central Lombok Regent, the Central Lombok Police Chief, the Rembitan Village Government and local residents on Wednesday morning (26/8/2026). The meeting was also accompanied by a communal effort to clear debris from the fire.

Iqbal stressed that the rebuilding of Sade Traditional Village must be safer from disasters. “We must think about air circulation, and think about how fire suppression can be more effective if a fire occurs,” he told journalists on Wednesday.

“Today’s meeting was aimed at reaching an agreement on the direction of the response. Starting from the humanitarian aspect, to return the Sade community to their normal lives,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal said the meeting resulted in a decision to reconstruct the buildings that were destroyed by the fire. He noted that Sade Village does not belong only to the local community, but has become the property of all Indonesian people and must therefore be handled together.

“The reconstruction of Sade Traditional Village must reach a consensus. Because Sade is not only owned by the residents, but belongs to NTB and belongs to Indonesia,” he said.

The high level of concern for Sade, Iqbal continued, is evident from the large amount of assistance received from various parties. Iqbal observed that the sense of ownership felt by all Indonesians towards Sade is quite strong and must be a shared concern.

“That is why everyone paid attention when this disaster occurred. Because they have a feeling for the place,” said the former Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey.

Iqbal said the approach decided for the response is community-based. This was chosen because the development of a traditional village cannot be separated from the role of the community.

“This reconstruction must be community-based. So it must involve the community. The community is directly involved in this process,” he said.

However, Iqbal said the source of funding has not yet been decided. What is clear is that the government has ensured that the new face of Sade Village will be arranged to match the previous buildings, but will be designed to be safer.

“We have not gone into that level of detail yet (discussing the budget). The direction will be decided together. That is, we will reconstruct and restore it as best as possible to its original state, but better than the existing version,” he said.

Iqbal assured that the rebuilding will be carried out as soon as possible. The provincial government does not want to see the community dwell on the sadness caused by the disaster. However, for the time being, he asked residents to remain patient. “The sooner the better,” he added.

Iqbal could not promise whether the new buildings could be completed before the 2026 Mandalika MotoGP. If it cannot be finished in time, he suggested tourists choose other traditional villages as alternatives.

“There is no need to link it to MotoGP. MotoGP can go ahead without Sade. There are still other traditional villages that can be visited,” he concluded.