KDM Shocked to Find Waste Uncleaned for 32 Years in Bandung

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi was shocked to discover that waste in Bandung City had not been collected or cleaned for 32 years. He said he only learned of the situation when illegal buildings were demolished in front of the West Java Provincial Education Office on Jalan Radjiman, Bandung City.

“In Bandung, there is one water channel whose waste was only removed after 32 years,” he said after the 81st Indonesian Independence Day ceremony at Gedung Sate Pasanggrahan Pancarasa, Bandung City, on Monday (17/8/2026).

The man known as KDM said the uncleaned waste was located in a water channel in front of the West Java Provincial Education Office. KDM noted that the waste had never been cleaned, allowing it to accumulate continuously.

The former Purwakarta regent also highlighted that many water channels had illegal structures built over them for trading, which meant the waste was never visible. The West Java Provincial Government, he said, had since removed the waste until the area was clean.

“I calculate thirty-two years because it piled up, piled up, piled up. This is what has happened in Bandung. The water channels were used for trading, the waste was not attended to, and it accumulated,” he said.

He also highlighted the need to improve public mentality. At the same time, he criticised the mentality of bureaucratic officials who continue to perpetuate a feudal culture.

“What needs to be fixed is not only the mentality of officials; the people also need to improve,” he said.

He said feudal cultural practices from the colonial era still thrive today. Dedi therefore called for such culture to be eliminated and for officials not to behave in a feudal manner.

“We must not imitate feudalism, because feudalism can grow within the bureaucracy if we are not quick to recognise it,” he said after the 81st Indonesian Independence Day ceremony at Gedung Sate on Monday (17/8/2026).