PDIP General Chairman’s Instructions Hinder Synergy of Central and Regional Governance through Retreats
JAKARTA – The government is holding a regional head retreat in Magelang on February 21-28, 2025 as part of an effort to strengthen coordination and increase the effectiveness of regional leadership. This program is a strategic momentum for regional heads to understand the direction of national policy and ensure synchronization of development visions with the central government. However, the instruction of the PDIP General Chairperson to postpone the participation of regional heads from his party in this retreat is considered to hinder the synergy of central and regional governance.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Bima Arya, emphasized that the regional head retreat aims to strengthen emotional relationships and build closeness between regional heads. According to him, this approach cannot be done online, but must be done directly in order to create closer ties.
“The retreat has proven effective in strengthening working relationships, as previously done by ministers at the Magelang Military Academy. With the closeness that is established, coordination in dealing with emergency situations such as disasters will be faster and more efficient,” explained Bima.
On the other hand, Mohammad Toha, Member of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the PKB Faction, considered the regional head retreat in Magelang as an important means to understand and implement Asta Cita, the vision and mission of President Prabowo Subianto’s government. He emphasized that this retreat was a real step in increasing the capacity of regional leadership, especially in financial management and public services.
“This retreat shows the central government’s commitment to ensuring that regional heads have competencies that are in accordance with the needs of the community, and is proof of President Prabowo’s seriousness in running the government according to the law,” said Toha.
However, the PDI Perjuangan issued instructions to all regional heads and deputy regional heads from the PDIP to postpone their participation in the retreat in Magelang. PDIP Spokesperson Guntur Romli explained that this instruction was issued on the evening of February 20, 2025 via an electronic document distributed via the WhatsApp application.
“This instruction emphasizes the importance of internal party coordination in dealing with the developing situation,” said Guntur.
This instruction has caused controversy, because the regional head retreat is a strategic policy in building synergy between the central and regional governments. By preventing regional heads from PDIP from attending the retreat aimed at improving leadership capacity, this decision is considered to hinder policy alignment and the effectiveness of regional governance. PDIP’s attitude of prioritizing internal political agendas over the interests of the people has the potential to harm the community and shows disharmony between the party and the central government. The regional head retreat is expected to accelerate policy alignment and strengthen the quality of regional leadership for the welfare of the community as a whole. Therefore, PDIP’s decision to postpone the participation of regional heads from their party in this program can be considered a step that is not in line with the spirit of synergy between central and regional governance. [^]
