Ministers to be deployed across regions for Independence Day ceremonies

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Pratikno said a number of ministers will divide duties in the implementation of the 81st Independence Day commemoration on 17 August 2026. Pratikno said the Independence Day ceremony will not only be focused in Jakarta, but also in a number of regions.

This was conveyed by Pratikno after holding a coordination meeting on post-earthquake emergency response at the West Manggarai Regent’s Office, NTT, on Sunday (16/8/2026). Present in this series were Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo, Head of BNPB Lieutenant General TNI Suharyanto, and NTT Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena.

“We also need to convey that we will divide duties in the field and tomorrow we will hold the ceremony not in Jakarta, but we will join the independence day anniversary ceremonies in various regions,” Pratikno said in NTT.

Pratikno said ministers in the Red and White Cabinet will oversee a number of strategic issues in the regions. He stressed that although they are serving in different locations, coordination will still be carried out.

“So we divide duties to various regions to oversee, in accordance with our respective duties and functions, the crucial issues in those regions. But we will continue to coordinate even though we are in different places,” he added.

On this occasion, Pratikno also announced the establishment of a national command post to handle aid and accelerate recovery following the magnitude 7 earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). This is intended to ensure the acceleration of rehabilitation and reconstruction of key infrastructure so that it can be restored in the NTT region.

“As was conveyed earlier, a command post will be established immediately. On this second day, a command post has been formed; the central government has a post, a national command post. Later the Head of BNPB will convey that logistical assistance from Jakarta and from other regions will be consolidated at Halim and sent here,” Pratikno explained.

According to the Menko PMK, during the emergency response phase, the government is prioritising the rescue and recovery of affected residents and areas. The government will also immediately restore key infrastructure so that it can function again in the shortest possible time.

“In this emergency response phase, the main priority is of course to rescue affected residents, then to restore damaged infrastructure so that it becomes functional immediately, whether it is roads, bridges, hospitals, electricity, and also internet networks and so on, so that they recover in the shortest possible time,” he said.

Furthermore, Pratikno said the government is also committed to carrying out sustainable recovery through the rebuilding of affected areas. In addition, Pratikno also stressed that the government will strengthen resilience in disaster management.

“Disasters cannot be entirely avoided, but we must build resilient regional governments, resilient communities, resilient infrastructure, and also communities that are resilient in facing disasters,” Pratikno said.

“The central government has truly come here as a full team. Each one is asking what problems exist and what has been done, what will be done, and so on. So, this synchronisation is very important because the central government’s resources for emergency response and also rehabilitation and reconstruction are very large,” he added.