Prabowo Appoints New Heads of Government Communications Agency

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated activist Syahganda Nainggolan as Head of the Government Communications Agency (Bakom) at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday, October 2, 2026. He replaces Muhammad Qodari, who has been appointed Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres).

Meanwhile, Fadli Tri Hartono, a central executive board member of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), the political party led by Prabowo, was inaugurated as Vice Head of Bakom on the same day. The position had not previously existed.

Following his inauguration, Syahganda said Prabowo had emphasized the importance of government communication as a tool to strengthen national unity, and that the directive would be one of the agency's focuses in carrying out its duties. He said government communication should not only convey government programs but also explain the thinking behind and direction of the Prabowo administration's policies to the public.

"If the President's directive, as he conveyed it, is how to make communication a tool for national unity," Syahganda said, as quoted by the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat.

In carrying out its duties, Syahganda said Bakom would continue existing communication programs while strengthening its communication strategy by taking technological developments into account, including artificial intelligence (AI) and digital algorithms. Bakom would also study how these technological developments could affect the delivery of messages between the government and the public.

"We may establish a group, a special team, to study how algorithms can distort or create a distance between the President's thinking and the public. So, in addition to receiving assistance from our colleagues in the media, we will also be thinking about this going forward," he said.

Syahganda also said efforts to strengthen government communication would include more intensive dialogue with the media and journalists. The dialogue is expected to provide a forum for conveying government messages to the public while also bringing public aspirations to the government.

"We need to meet more often with our colleagues in the media and journalists, and see how dialogue between the government and the media can ultimately convey government messages to the public and bring the public's messages back to the government. So there will be intensive dialogue in the future," Syahganda said.

Furthermore, Syahganda appreciated media professionals who have helped communicate Prabowo's thoughts and various government programs to the public. He said communicating the President's thinking was important so that the public could understand the direction of the government.

"The programs are fine, and people can see them. But his thinking—that is, his constitutional thinking—is important, so that all the people can understand it," he concluded.