Prabowo Plans Cleanest City Competition with Rp20 Billion Prize
President Prabowo Subianto plans to hold a cleanest city competition with a Rp 20 billion prize for the five best cities, as an effort to encourage regional governments to improve environmental cleanliness and waste management.
In his speech at the mass handover of 62,000 units of subsidised housing loans (KPR) in Batang, Central Java, on Thursday, President Prabowo said the government would provide incentives in the form of budget allocations rather than merely symbolic recognition, so that regional governments would have greater motivation to keep their areas clean.
“We will hold a competition for the cleanest cities — the cleanest cities one, two, three, four, five. Do we need the dirtiest city? What matters is the cleanest city, and we will give them an incentive. For the cleanest city we will give, if possible, Rp 20 billion — the five cleanest cities get Rp 20 billion. The five cities below them get Rp 10 billion, and so on,” said President Prabowo, as monitored via the Presidential Secretariat broadcast in Jakarta on Thursday.
According to President Prabowo, providing incentives is more beneficial than simply awarding trophies to high-achieving regions.
President Prabowo stressed that all elements of government must have the determination to achieve clean cities, rivers, and waterways.
The Head of State asked governors, regents, mayors, as well as the ranks of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) to actively go into the field to monitor environmental conditions every day.
In addition, President Prabowo also asked regional leaders not to work only from behind their desks, but to make regular rounds to ensure environmental cleanliness, and to reprimand residents and business operators who neglect cleanliness.
“If there is a house that is not maintained, reprimand the owner; if the front of their house is filthy, reprimand them. Shops that refuse to maintain cleanliness, reprimand them; if they are reprimanded repeatedly and still refuse, well then, call in the joint team — the Attorney General’s Office and the police together,” Prabowo asserted.
President Prabowo emphasised that the waste problem is not merely a matter of cleanliness, but concerns the dignity of the nation.
Prabowo also invited all levels of society, from neighbourhood and community unit heads (RT and RW), cooperative administrators, mosque officials, civil servants (ASN), to directors of state-owned enterprises (BUMN), to work together to clean the environment regularly.
According to the President, the involvement of all elements of society will be the key to creating a clean environment while strengthening a culture of discipline and care for cleanliness throughout Indonesia.