Deputy Chairman of the Special Committee on the Bill concerning Archipelagic Regions, Jaelani, believes that the Bill concerning Archipelagic Regions could serve as a foundation for delivering more equitable development to island regions. He hopes the Bill will be able to reduce development disparities while ensuring that the unique characteristics of archipelagic regions become an important consideration in the direction of national development.

The participation of experts in the Public Hearing Meeting (RDPU), he continued, has also enriched discussions on the Bill and can help ensure that the regulations being drafted are truly capable of addressing the needs of archipelagic regions.

“Hopefully, the additional perspectives from experts will enrich our understanding of how the Archipelagic Regions Bill can be beneficial and reduce development disparities,” Jaelani said after the Special Committee’s public hearing with academics on the Archipelagic Regions Bill at the BAKN Meeting Room, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, as quoted on Friday, September 18, 2026.

He said that reducing these disparities needs to cover various aspects, ranging from infrastructure to marine technology. The governance of natural resources in archipelagic regions also needs attention so that development can provide benefits to local communities.

“This includes infrastructure, marine technology, as well as the governance of natural resources specifically found in archipelagic regions,” he said.

Jaelani believes that the enactment of the Bill could also serve as an opportunity to change the national development approach. So far, he noted, development has largely been oriented toward mainland areas.

“If this law is, God willing, enacted and promulgated, it will bring fresh air. Above all, we hope that our development paradigm will not only be land-based but also archipelago-based,” he added.

He hopes that the Archipelagic Regions Bill can become a foundation for ensuring that development in archipelagic areas does not lag behind other regions. According to him, regulations that specifically take into account the geographical characteristics of archipelagic regions are important for achieving more evenly distributed development.

“The most fundamental point is that, if this law is, God willing, enacted, it will bring fresh air,” he concluded.