Opening Sumut RKPD Musrenbang, Tito Emphasises Thorough Planning
Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri), Muhammad Tito Karnavian, emphasised the importance of thorough planning in the preparation of the Regional Government Work Plan (RKPD). High-quality planning is seen as the key to driving significant change.
This was conveyed by Tito while delivering guidance and opening the Musyawarah Perencanaan Pembangunan (Musrenbang) for the 2027 RKPD of North Sumatra Province (Sumut) at the Santika Dyandra Hotel in Medan, Sumut, on Wednesday (22/4).
According to him, Musrenbang must not be viewed merely as a routine agenda (business as usual). Instead, the forum should serve as the initial foundation in formulating a directed and impactful regional development direction.
“Thorough planning, mature quality, meaning detailed, determines 60 percent of a programme’s success,” said Tito in his statement on Wednesday (22/4/2026).
Tito stated that good planning must be prepared by listening to aspirations from the bottom up. The provincial government needs to absorb proposals, desires, and hopes at the regency/city level.
Furthermore, Tito continued, the province does not stand alone but is part of the national government system. Therefore, in addition to receiving bottom-up input from the regency/city level, the province must also align it with the central government’s programmes.
“Of course, the Governor and his team, as elected regional heads, when listening from the centre, are representatives of the central government in the regions. But as elected regional heads, they certainly have their own thoughts. Earlier, the [North Sumatra Governor] has already outlined it; I have heard the concepts and roadmaps for 2027,” he explained.
Further, Tito noted that the vision and mission of regional heads become the hallmark of strong leadership. Regional heads are required to have a clear direction regarding regional development outlined in a roadmap. In this context, he emphasised that leadership is not only determined by authority but also by the strength of the concepts possessed.
“Having power, authority, jurisdiction, but that is not enough; must have followers, subordinates. But more than that is having concepts,” he added.
According to him, the purpose of Musrenbang is to formulate concrete and measurable activity plans through deliberation to reach agreement on priority programmes. He affirmed that the more detailed the planning compiled, the better, because a deeper understanding of problems will help in formulating the right strategies.
“I always learn everywhere, in several countries, that knowledge always emerges. The knowledge of Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu was a Chinese strategist from ancient times. Know your enemy, know yourself, and you will win in a thousand battles,” Tito concluded.