Sustainable Development with Malang Mbois Berkelas
Known as the Paris of East Java, Malang City in East Java boasts beautiful nature, cool air, and a well-ordered, comfortable urban area. This charm is the fruit of a sustainable regional development concept. The spirit aligns with the philosophy that ‘we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children’, which serves as the soul of development in Malang City.
This commitment has given Malang a strategic role in the national urban development agenda, reinforced by its designation as one of 50 national priority areas in the Programme for Development Towards a Metropolitan City for 2025-2029.
However, building a metropolitan city does not focus solely on physical aspects. More than that, the Malang City Government places the quality of life of its people as the main basis for sustainable regional development.
This spirit guides the leadership of Mayor Wahyu Hidayat and Deputy Mayor Ali Muthohirin in implementing the vision Towards Malang Mbois Berkelas. ‘Mbois is an acronym for Mandiri, Berbudaya, Optimis, Indah, and Sejahtera. Meanwhile, Berkelas reflects the commitment to realise development that is Berkelanjutan, Kolaboratif, Efisien, Lestari, Adaptif, and Sinergis,’ said Wahyu.
The vision is translated through the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan, the Regional Government Work Plan, Dasa Bakti Unggulan, five priority regional programmes, and various development strategies aligned with the President’s Asta Cita towards Golden Indonesia 2045.
All these policies are built on four pillars of sustainable development: environmental management, improving the quality of health services, strengthening access to and quality of education, and providing adequate housing. The four do not operate separately, but reinforce one another within a single development ecosystem that places people at the centre of every policy.
In terms of environmental management, waste in Malang is no longer seen merely as a cleanliness matter, but as a sustainable development investment. The Malang City Government continues to strengthen waste management from upstream to downstream. This effort is supported through the Gerakan Indonesia Asri, Sekolah Adiwiyata, Kampung Bersinar, mass community clean-ups, and pentahelix collaboration involving various stakeholders.
These measures have begun to bear fruit, with Malang City’s Environmental Quality Index reaching 64.61 in 2025. ‘This reflects the improving quality of environmental management towards a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable city,’ said Wahyu.
A well-maintained environment serves as the foundation for improving public health quality. Therefore, the Malang City Government has made Universal Health Coverage (UHC) one of the main priorities of health development, earning the UHC Awards 2026 in the Main Category.
Human development is also continuously strengthened through the education sector, including scholarships, free school uniforms, and educational assistance. These policies are accompanied by improvements in learning quality, strengthening of educational facilities and infrastructure, and digital-based learning transformation.
As a result, the Minimum Service Standards (SPM) for Education increased from 87.90 in 2025 to 90.78 in 2026 with a Tuntas Utama predicate, placing Malang City as the region with the best national SPM achievement in education. Expected years of schooling have also exceeded 16 years, while the average years of schooling is 11.36 years.
The commitment to improving the quality of life is realised through support for the National Strategic Programme of 3 Million Houses. The Malang City Government continues to strengthen the handling of uninhabitable houses, improve the quality of residential areas, expand access to drinking water and sanitation, and reduce slum areas through basic infrastructure development.
‘Good development is sustainable development,’ said Wahyu. ‘We continue to strengthen synergy among all stakeholders so that every programme provides real benefits for society today and for future generations.’