Maluku Government and BKKBN Launch GAT-Link to Strengthen Fathers' Role in Families

The Maluku Provincial Government, together with the provincial representative office of the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), has launched the Exemplary Father Movement for Civil Servants (GAT-Link) programme to strengthen the role of fathers in child-rearing and family life. Head of the BKKBN Representative Office for Maluku, Edi Setiawan, stated in Ambon on Monday that the launch is part of the implementation of the Indonesian Exemplary Father Movement (GATI), initiated by the Ministry of Population and Family Development/BKKBN. The programme aims to increase fathers’ involvement in parenting while responding to the fatherless phenomenon still occurring in Indonesia, including in Maluku. “Today we are commemorating the 33rd National Family Day. We want to use this momentum to restore the father’s role in the family, to participate in child-rearing and family support in order to combat the currently prevalent fatherless issue,” Edi said. He noted that in Maluku, the figure reaches 22 per cent, meaning that 22 out of every 100 families experience a fatherless condition where the father may be physically present but absent from family life. According to him, this condition can potentially affect children’s growth and development, necessitating a collective movement to improve the quality of care through fathers’ involvement in family life. Edi explained that GAT-Link is an educational programme targeting male civil servants so they can become role models in fulfilling their role as fathers. The programme focuses on four main dimensions of parenting: building close emotional interactions with children, increasing the father’s presence in the child’s daily life, strengthening responsibility in meeting the child’s physical, educational, and health needs, and increasing fathers’ involvement in domestic work related to childcare. “GAT-Link is expected to set an example that civil servants must also be capable of being role models as fathers who are present, not just physically but also emotionally and actively supporting the family,” he said. Meanwhile, Maluku Governor Hendrik Lewerissa stated that the GATI Community Forum within the Maluku Provincial Government is a follow-up to the Governor’s Decree Number 796 of 2026 concerning the establishment of the forum. “Fathers, your role in the household is not merely as a breadwinner. Your duty is not finished once you have sent the shopping money or paid the school fees,” the governor said. He also urged fathers to build emotional closeness with their children through warm communication, to be role models, and to be present both physically and psychologically in every stage of their children’s growth and development.