MPR Chair Backs Prabowo's Decision Not to Declare Sumatra Floods a National Disaster

December 2, 2025 | 08:09 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chair of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Ahmad Muzani responded to President Prabowo Subianto’s decision not to declare the recent floods and landslides in Sumatra a national disaster.

“The president has his own considerations. This is within his authority, as such a decision must be issued through a Presidential Decree,” Muzani said after meeting Prabowo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on December 2, 2025.

Muzani added that the government has so far been able to manage the situation swiftly in coordination with regional administrations.

Earlier, President Prabowo said that the existing regional disaster emergency status was sufficient to handle the crisis.

“We continue to monitor the situation. I think the current status is adequate,” he said during a visit to Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra, on Monday, December 1.

Prabowo said he had issued no special instructions for the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) or the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), noting that both agencies already have established procedures for emergency response.

“BNPB is responding quickly, the military is very fast, and so is the police. We have deployed helicopters, Hercules aircraft, and all available planes,” he said.

On another occasion, Prabowo said he could not yet confirm whether the Sumatra disaster would be raised to national status, stressing that the government would continue monitoring conditions and delivering assistance.

“We will keep evaluating,” he said at the Bank Indonesia building in Jakarta on November 28.

BNPB Chief Lt. Gen. Suharyanto explained why the government has not declared the floods and landslides a national disaster. He said the events in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra remain categorized as provincial-level disasters.

While initial reports circulating on social media made the situation appear severe, he said conditions on the ground have improved.

“National disaster status has only been declared twice: for Covid-19 and the 2004 Aceh tsunami,” Suharyanto said in a press briefing on November 28.

He noted that major disasters such as the Palu earthquake, the West Nusa Tenggara earthquake, and the Cianjur earthquake were also not designated national disasters.

The decision, he said, is based on several considerations, including the scale of casualties. According to him, the current situation in Sumatra has not met the threshold.

Despite this, civil society groups are urging Prabowo to declare a national disaster emergency to strengthen central coordination and accelerate recovery.

“We urge the President of Indonesia to immediately declare a national disaster emergency for the major disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra,” said Aceh Transparency Society (MaTA) coordinator Alfian in Banda Aceh on November 30, as reported by Antara.

Hendrik Yaputra and Ervana Trikarinaputri contributed to the writing of this article.

Editor’s Choice: No Areas in Sumatra Remain Isolated After Severe Floods, Says Basarnas

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