RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia is commemorating the 30th anniversary of Regional Autonomy Day to celebrate the achievements of decentralization in its system of government. The country's Minister of Home Affairs commemorated the day at a flag ceremony in Jakarta on Monday, 27 March 2026.
Vice Minister of Home Affairs, Bima Arya, said that regional autonomy is not static, and he saw the past 30 years as a continuous process of refining, improving, and evaluating the autonomy. However, he said, enjoying the autonomy is about taking responsibility.
"Regional autonomy, once again, is not only about authority, but also about responsibility," Bima said as monitored by RRI Voice of Indonesia on Monday.
"The responsibility to continue delivering public services, the responsibility to build a government with integrity, (and) the responsibility to continuously provide the most fundamental public services that the people can feel," he conveyed.
Bima added that regional autonomy is meaningless without collective efforts to align democracy and effective governance. Thus, he invited government employees to accelerate, synchronize, and encourage collaboration from the central to local governments, in order to focus on effective governance.
"Autonomy is a fruit of democracy, but autonomy and democracy without effective governance will not be felt by the people," he said.
Regional autonomy in Indonesia has been regulated since the early years of independence. However, a law enacted during the New Order era under President Soeharto in 1974 reinforced a centralized system of governance. Regional Autonomy Day was established in 1996 and is observed every April 25, but broader regional autonomy was only achieved in 1999 during the Reform era.
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