Jokowi Agrees To The Revision Of The Village Law, The Position Of The Village Head Will Be Extended To 9 Years

PDI-P politician Budiman Sudjatmiko, at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Tuesday (17/1/2023). ANTARA/Gilang Galiartha

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) approved the revision of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages. Including articles that regulate the periodization of the position of village head (kades).

This was conveyed by PDI-P politician Budiman Sudjatmiko after meeting with President Jokowi, at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday, January 17.

At first, Budiman explained that President Jokowi summoned him to the Palace to ask for information about the demonstration by the village heads demanding a revision of the Village Law in front of the DPR Building today.

Budiman conveyed that the President asked this because he often took care of and helped with issues about villages.

"Earlier, the father asked a lot about the situation, coincidentally today there were tens of thousands of village heads in demonstration asking for a revision of the Village Law. He asked what I know, because I have also taken care of it a lot, helping the village, yes," Budiman told reporters after the meeting with Jokowi, Tuesday, January 17, was confiscated by Antara.

Budiman conveyed that his presence at the Palace did not represent the village heads who demonstrated. Instead, he continued, he only told the President about what he knew about the demands of the village heads.

Budiman, who participated in the initiation of the Village Law, told the President that the village head demanded a change in the periodization of the position of village head as regulated in the Village Law.

In Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages, it is regulated that the term of office of the village per period is 6 years, and can be re-elected in the next two periods.

"So six years multiplied by three, (because) it can be chosen twice again. So a total of 18 years of opportunity for a village head is like that. However, the findings in the field felt that it was wasteful and caused a lot of social conflict," Budiman said, repeating what he told the President.

He explained that the scope of village selection intersects with neighbors and families, so that when there is a conflict in the election, it usually has to be resolved during a term of office and disrupts village work.

Therefore, the village heads asked for the periodization of the position of village heads to be extended to 9 years.

Because sometimes three years, the first two years (of office) the conflict is not resolved, so the remaining three years or the remaining four years is not enough to build the village. Meanwhile, the village head election is still there," he also said.

So that relatively the work of concentrating on building a village is only two years, three years. While the other four years or three years have run out to fight, there is this demand for nine years of periodization, it could be two times or whatever, but the position is no longer 6 years of periodization, "he said again.

According to Budiman, the President agreed with the village head's demands to extend the periodization of the village head.

I chatted with Pak Jokowi, and Pak Jokowi said he agreed with the demands. He said the demands made sense. Indeed, the dynamics in the village is different from the dynamics in the district/city (for example the governor's election). "I dare say, even though I do not represent the village head, but because I am invited to discuss, then I convey a statement that he agrees with the demands," he said.