Regional Autonomy Runs for 30 Years, Ahmad Luthfi Urges Fiscal Independence
According to Luthfi, fiscal independence cannot be achieved if regions operate independently. However, it requires collaborative efforts from various parties. Therefore, he urged regency and city governments to build new economic growth centres in line with each region’s potential.
Several agglomeration areas such as Solo Raya, Pekalongan Raya, Banyumas Raya, Muria Raya, and Semarang Raya can serve as nodes to strengthen the regional economy.
Luthfi emphasised that in developing the regional economy, regions must not fall into sectoral egos. The provincial government will take on the role of coordinator in regional oversight to ensure more equitable development.
He also stressed that the implementation of regional autonomy must be increasingly oriented towards real benefits for society. Public services should no longer be merely administrative but must address the needs of citizens. According to him, Civil Servants (ASN) and bureaucracy are fundamentally present to serve the community.
“Our public services are no longer oriented towards administration. Our services must be oriented towards benefits for society. Because essentially, ASN or we in the bureaucracy are to serve the community,” said Luthfi in his statement on Monday (27/4/2026).
This was conveyed after serving as the inspecting officer at the 30th Central Java Provincial Regional Autonomy Day Commemoration Ceremony in 2026 at the Central Java Governor’s Office grounds today.
Luthfi also reminded of the importance of budgetary efficiency. In the spirit of regional autonomy, every government activity must be purposeful, not wasteful, and truly beneficial to society.
“There must be no waste, it must be purposeful, and no activities that are not beneficial to society,” he said.
In the 30th Regional Autonomy Day commemoration, he continued, it also serves as a momentum to reinforce the governor’s role as the central government’s representative in the region. This is as regulated in Law No. 23 of 2014 on Regional Government, particularly in coordination and oversight functions.
According to Luthfi, there needs to be synchronisation between the central government, province, and regencies/cities. This synchronisation must start from planning and budgeting so that development programmes can run in unison.
Previously, during the ceremony, Luthfi delivered the message from the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri), Muhammad Tito Karnavian. In that message, Tito emphasised that regional autonomy must be an instrument to accelerate equitable development, strengthen public services, and improve societal welfare.
“The Regional Autonomy Day commemoration is a momentum for us all to strengthen our commitment and role in providing real benefits to society,” he stated.
This year’s 30th Regional Autonomy Day commemoration adopts the theme ‘With Regional Autonomy We Realise Asta Cita’. The theme underscores the importance of regional independence and responsibility in managing local potentials, while strengthening synergy between central and regional governments.
In the series of the ceremony, the Central Java Provincial Government (Pemprov Jateng) also presented plaques of appreciation for Local Government Performance Reports (LPPD) and Minimum Service Standards (SPM) to several outstanding regencies and cities.
For the regency LPPD category, awards were given to Klaten Regency, Sragen Regency, and Wonogiri Regency. Meanwhile, for the city LPPD category, awards were given to Surakarta City and Salatiga City.
As for the regency SPM category, awards were given to Karanganyar Regency, Klaten Regency, and Kebumen Regency. Whereas for the city SPM category, awards were given to Magelang City and Semarang City.
For information, the ceremony was attended by the Deputy Governor of Central Java, Taj Yasin Maimoen; Forkopimda officials; award-receiving regional heads, the Provincial Secretary of Central Java, heads of Regional Device Organisations (OPD), BUMD leaders, and ASN in the Pemprov Jateng environment.