MPR Deputy Speaker Urges Demak Tidal Flood Handling to Be National Priority

Wakil Ketua MPR RI Lestari Moerdijat has stressed that the tidal flooding and permanent inundation affecting Sayung District, Demak Regency, Central Java, must be addressed comprehensively, describing the issue as urgent and deserving of national priority status. She made the remarks during a public aspiration event titled ‘Acceleration and Equitable Regional Development: Ecological and Infrastructure Challenges’ at Hotel Amantis, Demak, on Monday (22/6/2026). In her speech, Lestari highlighted infrastructure development such as the Semarang-Sayung toll road. Although intended to accelerate development access, the project has been assessed as causing massive environmental impacts. The legislator, affectionately known as Rerie, explained that the Sayung area was historically a strait that was not developed during the Dutch colonial era due to geological considerations. Today, however, the area is under severe pressure from infrastructure development and climate change. “When we talk about the Demak context, the Sayung area and its surrounding villages have already entered the category of a permanent disaster, no longer just tidal flooding,” Rerie asserted. The legislator from the Central Java II electoral district revealed that, according to compiled data, the disaster has submerged 6,600 hectares of Demak’s territory, directly impacting around 15,000 families. Many residents have lost their agricultural land and have been forced to become fish farmers without adequate knowledge, resulting in unstable daily incomes. Facing this situation, the member of House Commission X offered two options. The first is relocation, which is currently considered very difficult to implement. The second option is to promote adaptation efforts by preparing affected residents through various programmes. “For example, for agricultural land that can no longer be planted, we discuss with the government to pursue biosaline rice varieties. Or, rice fields that have turned into water bodies could be converted into fish ponds. However, it turns out the licensing process to convert rice fields into ponds is also not simple,” she explained. Furthermore, Rerie criticised the short-term solution of raising road surfaces, arguing that this merely shifts the problem because water runoff will still return to inundate residential areas. She urged the local government and Regional Legislative Council to dare to adopt more progressive administrative policies. Beyond infrastructure and economic aspects, the NasDem Party High Council member emphasised the importance of environmental education. She encouraged nature-based ecological restoration, such as planting mangroves to prevent erosion and fish pond abrasion, as well as systematic waste management. “This is already a disaster and we cannot ignore it. If the approach is always normative, this problem will never be resolved. What is being lost in Sayung is not just land, but living space, certainty, and the future,” Rerie concluded. Also present at the event were Demak community figure Mugiyono, several members of the Demak Regency DPRD from the NasDem Party faction (Sulkan, Ibrahim Suyuti, Martono, Muh Safii, and Endang Susilowati), as well as other figures such as Tri Wahyu Habsari and Nandy Ikhtiar Indonesia. The activity also gathered aspirations from resident representatives of over a dozen local sub-districts.