The Ministry of Home Affairs Follows Up on the President's Request to Remove the South Aceh Regent

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The controversy surrounding the departure of Aceh Selatan Regent Mirwan MS abroad while the flood disaster in his region has not been fully resolved has drawn the attention of President Prabowo Subianto. The President has confirmed the mechanism for the removal of Mirwan MS both as regent and as a political party official. The Ministry of Home Affairs will also soon conduct an examination of the regent.

President Prabowo Subianto's attention to the controversy surrounding the South Aceh Regent, Mirwan MS, emerged while he was leading a limited meeting on disaster management in Sumatra in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Sunday (7/12/2025) evening. During the meeting, which was attended by several regional heads and ministers of the Merah Putih Cabinet, the President listened to the explanation from Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian regarding the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) of three provinces and 52 affected districts/cities, which had become depleted for disaster management. The President then decided to increase the budget for each district/city by Rp 4 billion.

In the discussion, the President ensured the presence of all regional heads to affirm that the central government will provide additional funding for disaster management. He likened the regional heads to commanders standing at the forefront, working hard for the people. Therefore, as President, what he can do is to support the regional heads so that they do not hesitate to make policies.

"Thank you, to the Regent. You are the ones who continue to fight for the people. Indeed, you were chosen to face difficulties. If anyone wants to run away, just go ahead, it's fine, just step down immediately," said Prabowo.

Without mentioning the party that is intended to be dismissed, the President then asked Tito Karnavian about the mechanism for the removal of regional heads. "The Minister of Home Affairs can process this, right? Yes, right? If it's the military, it's called desertion. In a state of danger, leaving one's subordinates. Wow, that cannot happen," he stated.

Prabowo, who also serves as the Chairman and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Gerindra Party, emphasized that he does not wish to inquire about the political party affiliation of the regional heads he requested to be dismissed. However, Prabowo still posed this question to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Secretary-General of the Gerindra Party, Sugiono, who was also present at the meeting.

"Have you fired him?" Prabowo asked Sugiono.

The President's request to dismiss the regional head was conveyed to the Minister of Home Affairs and the Secretary-General of Gerindra in relation to the controversy surrounding the Regent of South Aceh, Mirwan MS. It is known that Mirwan traveled abroad for Umrah on December 2, 2025, while the handling of flood and landslide disasters in North Sumatra, Aceh, and West Sumatra had not yet been fully resolved, including in South Aceh. Mirwan's departure abroad was also reported to be without permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Previously, Sugiono stated that the Central Leadership Council of the Gerindra Party regretted Mirwan's decision to travel abroad while his region was affected by a disaster. Therefore, Gerindra decided to remove Mirwan from his position in the party. Mirwan is the Chairman of the Gerindra Branch Council in South Aceh.

Check Mirwan

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Bima Arya Sugiarto, when contacted on Monday (8/12/2025), stated that in order to follow up on the President's statement, his office will soon examine Mirwan. The examination will be conducted by the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Home Affairs as soon as Mirwan arrives in Aceh.

"Based on the information we received yesterday (Sunday), the regent is still on the way. If he arrives today, the Inspectorate General team will conduct an inspection immediately," Bima stated.

He continued, in Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government, provisions are made regarding the obligations and prohibitions for regional heads and their deputies. Additionally, sanctions that can be imposed for violations of both obligations and prohibitions are also stipulated.

"If, during the examination by the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are violations of obligations or prohibitions committed by regional heads or their deputies based on facts and data in the field, then the inspectorate may recommend sanctions against the regional head," said Bima.

The regulations regarding prohibitions for regional heads and their deputies are stipulated in Article 76 of Law No. 23/2014. In this article, there are ten prohibitions, one of which is traveling abroad without permission from the minister as mentioned in Article 76 Paragraph (1) letter i. In Article 76 Paragraph (1) letter j, another prohibition is stated, namely leaving duties and work areas for more than seven consecutive or non-consecutive days within a month without permission from the minister for governors and deputy governors, as well as without permission from the governor for regents and deputy regents or mayors and deputy mayors.

Regarding the sanctions that can be imposed, they are regulated in Article 77 of Law No. 23/2014. In Article 77 Paragraph (2) of the law, it is stated that the head and/or deputy head of the region who travels abroad without permission is subject to a temporary suspension sanction for three months. Furthermore, in Article 77 Paragraph (3) of Law No. 23/2014, the head and/or deputy head of the region who leaves their duties and work area for more than seven consecutive days or non-consecutively within a month will receive a written reprimand.