Indonesia’s Upper House Welcomes Prabowo’s Support for Archipelagic Regions Bill

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian Regional Representative Council (DPD) welcomed President Prabowo Subianto’s state address, in which he mentioned one of the bills proposed by the upper house. The bill would ensure that development does not focus solely on the country’s major islands, but also reaches archipelagic regions.

Speaker of the DPD, Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, said millions of people living in archipelagic areas are not yet specifically accommodated under existing laws. This has contributed to uneven development in several areas, including infrastructure.

“Indeed, infrastructure in archipelagic regions is not yet on par with infrastructure in other regions,” Sultan said at a press conference following the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the Indonesian President’s State Address in Jakarta on Friday, August 14, 2026.

For this reason, the council has proposed the Archipelagic Regions Bill. According to the website of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR), the bill would regulate budgetary authority for archipelagic regions, enabling them to pursue strategic measures and policies for managing their respective areas.

Sultan welcomed Prabowo’s mention of the Archipelagic Regions Bill in his state address. He said the government is now keen to accelerate deliberations on the bill.

“It is already being discussed, and, beyond our expectations, Mr. President said earlier that it would be completed. For us, that is something extraordinary,” he said.

In his state address, Prabowo said the bill had entered joint deliberations between the government and parliament. He also said the bill would soon be completed.

“The DPD also continues to champion the Archipelagic Regions Bill, which has now entered tripartite discussions with the DPR and the government. God willing, it will be completed,” he said.