West Java DPRD Speaker Stresses Regional Progress as Key to a Developed Indonesia

The Speaker of the West Java Provincial DPRD and Chair of the Association of Indonesian Provincial DPRDs, Buky Wibawa Karya Guna, has stated that regional development is the primary foundation and key to realising a developed and prosperous Indonesia. According to Buky, the success of national development cannot be separated from regional progress. Therefore, the West Java Provincial DPRD supports various priority programmes of the central government, including the implementation of President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita, whilst adapting their execution to the needs and characteristics of each region. “Surely Indonesia will be prosperous. If the regions are prosperous, Indonesia is prosperous. If the regions are developed, Indonesia is developed. So essentially, the central government is also concentrating on development starting from the regions, including through various programmes planned by the President. We fully support the President’s priority programmes with language and understanding that can be implemented effectively and efficiently in the regions,” he said in a written statement on Tuesday (30/6/2026). He made these remarks while attending the National Working Meeting of the Association of Indonesian Provincial DPRDs in Bali Province. Buky acknowledged that regional governments are feeling the impact of reduced transfer funds from the central government. However, he stressed that this condition should not be a reason for stalled regional development. He argued that fiscal limitations should instead be a challenge for local governments to be more creative in exploring revenue potential and optimising their own resources. “We in the regions do feel the reduction in transfer funds. But that does not mean development cannot continue. This is precisely the challenge for us to understand the central government’s financial situation, while we in the regions must encourage regional heads to be more creative in driving the wheels of development,” he explained. He cited the example of re-evaluating local government assets that have not been optimally utilised, so they can be used more productively and contribute to the region’s Original Local Government Revenue. Meanwhile, the Chair of the Bali Provincial DPRD and host of the meeting, Dewa Made Mahayadnya, appreciated the attendance of over 240 participants from various provinces. He noted that one of the important agendas was discussing fiscal policy between the central and regional governments. He highlighted that Bali has different characteristics compared to other regions, as its economic backbone relies heavily on tourism. “In Bali, we have tourism, and we will discuss how central fiscal policy relates to the regions, especially Bali. This deserves attention because tourism cannot be calculated in the same way as agricultural or natural resource products. Yet, in terms of foreign exchange, we contribute approximately IDR 160 to 170 trillion per year,” he said. He explained that this level of contribution warrants a more proportional fiscal policy from the central government towards regions that depend on tourism. He added that the meeting serves as a strategic forum to convey regional aspirations to the central government and to strengthen support for national priority programmes.