Observer Says DPD Strengthens Strategic Role as Regional Representation

Researcher at the Indonesian Parliament Concerned Citizens Forum (FORMAPPI) Lucius Karus has assessed that the DPD RI’s efforts to champion regional interests through the legislative process demonstrate the institution’s strategic role as regional representation. According to Lucius, the speech by DPD RI Speaker Sultan B. Najamudin during the Joint Session of the DPR and DPD RI was noteworthy because it did not merely contain criticism or evaluation of the government. The DPD also offered a number of constructive agendas that subsequently received a response from the government. “In my view, this shows the DPD is beginning to find its strategic position. The DPD is not only speaking on behalf of the regions, but also striving to ensure regional aspirations are translated into national policy,” said Lucius in his statement on Saturday (15/8). Lucius said the Archipelagic Regions Bill is the most concrete example. The struggle for this bill has been ongoing since 2017 and it is now included in the 2026 Priority National Legislation Programme. Therefore, President Prabowo’s positive response to the agenda should be seen as an important development for central-regional relations. “If a struggle that has lasted for years finally receives a positive response from the government and is included in the priority legislative agenda, that is certainly an achievement worthy of appreciation. It means there are regional aspirations that have been successfully brought to the level of national policy,” he said. He said the Archipelagic Regions Bill also has broad significance because it concerns Indonesia’s character as an archipelagic nation. According to him, the regulation can serve as an instrument to ensure development policies do not apply a uniform approach to all regions. “Indonesia is an archipelagic nation. Therefore, development policies must also be able to recognise the distinctiveness of archipelagic regions. At this point, the DPD’s struggle becomes relevant because they bring a regional perspective into national policy,” he explained. Lucius also viewed the DPD RI Speaker’s speech as relatively constructive because it did not place central and regional government relations in an adversarial position. Instead, the speech emphasised that the centre and the regions are a single entity in building Indonesia. “This is a positive approach. The DPD carries out its regional representation function without having to create the impression that regional interests are always at odds with the central government. What is offered instead is collaboration so that national programmes are truly felt down to the regions,” Lucius explained. Furthermore, Lucius said the DPD’s challenge going forward is to ensure political support for regional agendas does not stop at speeches and the inclusion of a bill in the National Legislation Programme. According to him, the DPD needs to continue overseeing the deliberation process until regulations genuinely provide benefits for regional communities. “The measure of the DPD’s success is not only how strongly it voices regional aspirations, but how far those aspirations are transformed into concrete policies that are felt by the public. The Archipelagic Regions Bill can become an important example of that process,” he said. Lucius added that if the DPD is able to consistently carry out this pattern, the institution’s political legitimacy as regional representation will grow stronger. “If the DPD consistently champions regional interests in a constructive, data-based manner that produces policy, the public will increasingly see the DPD not merely as a complementary parliamentary body, but as an institution that is indeed important for ensuring national development does not leave the regions behind,” Lucius concluded.