Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Defence Sign MoU on Transfer of Heroes' Cemetery Management
The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) and the Ministry of Defence (Kemenhan) have officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the transfer of management of the National Heroes’ Cemetery (TMP) and National Heroes’ Graves in various regions. This signing follows up on instructions from President Prabowo Subianto to optimise the management of heroic sites.
The MoU signing took place during a meeting between Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) and Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. Gus Ipul’s visit to Kemenhan was a reciprocation of a previous meeting, when Deputy Minister of Defence Marsekal Madya TNI (Ret.) Donny Ermawan Taufanto visited the Kemensos office in mid-March to discuss the management transition plans.
“So today, together with the Deputy Minister, the Secretary General, and the Director General of Social Empowerment, along with several staff, we met with the Minister of Defence and his team to sign an MoU for the transfer of the Kalibata Heroes’ Cemetery and several national heroes’ graves in various regions,” said Gus Ipul in a written statement on Friday (3/4/2026).
One of the main objects in this transfer is the Main National Heroes’ Cemetery in Kalibata. In addition, the transfer also covers around 217 TMP and National Heroes’ Grave sites throughout Indonesia.
“This is to follow up on the President’s instructions to optimise the management of the Main National Heroes’ Cemetery such as in Kalibata and National Heroes’ Graves in various regions,” he continued.
Previously, Gus Ipul targeted the operational transition process to begin on 1 April 2026. In line with that, starting this April, field-level management will be led by Kemenhan through designated personnel.
“Starting this April, the full management of the Heroes’ Cemetery along with National Heroes’ Graves at 217 sites across Indonesia will be directly led by the Minister of Defence through his designated personnel,” he explained.
During the transition period, Kemensos will continue to provide support in terms of administration, human resources (HR), and operational maintenance funding until Kemenhan is fully ready to take over the management.
“In the meantime, we will provide support during this transition through administrative and human resources assistance that has previously been involved in managing the National Heroes’ Cemeteries,” said Gus Ipul.
Administratively, the transition process will run until the end of 2026. After that, full management is targeted to be under Kemenhan starting next year.
“Insya Allah, until the end of the year, we will still provide administrative assistance, while for next year, Insya Allah, it will be fully managed by the Ministry of Defence,” he stated.
According to Gus Ipul, this policy is intended so that TMP management does not only focus on physical aspects but also on strengthening heroic values and patriotism, especially for the younger generation.
“The National Heroes’ Cemetery or National Heroes’ Graves contain values of struggle, patriotism, and heroism that should serve as inspiration,” he revealed.
He also emphasised that budget and human resource limitations were one of the considerations in the management transfer.
“So far, our budget has been limited, and we indeed do not have sufficient resources to manage so many National Heroes’ Graves and National Heroes’ Cemeteries,” he said.
With this transfer, TMP management is expected to run more optimally and simultaneously provide a stronger space for national education for the public.
“So this is once again not just about physically managing the cemetery, but there are greater values beyond that, which I believe the Ministry of Defence has sufficient resources to realise,” he concluded.