August 15, 2025
JAKARTA – The administration of Prabowo Subianto has denied reports that budget shortfalls from the austerity measures prompted a now-scrapped tax hike in Central Java’s Pati, as it called for dialogue to resolve public unrest in the regency which culminated in massive protests on Wednesday.
“We hope the situation in Pati can be resolved properly. Everyone should engage in dialogue, meet with a cool head and a calm mind to settle this matter well. Because if public order is disrupted, the public’s interests will naturally be affected,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) head Hasan Nasbi said on Thursday.
Hasan was responding to reporters’ questions surrounding the central government’s response to the massive demonstrations in Pati opposing Regent Sudewo’s attempt to increase land and building tax rates by up to 250 percent in May, only two months into his term.
Thousands of Pati residents flooded the streets on Wednesday, calling for the immediate resignation of Sudewo, a politician from Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, despite the regent having already backtracked on the tax hike last week.
When asked if the planned tax hike was driven by Prabowo’s sweeping austerity measures, Hasan called the accusation “premature” since the cuts only reduced local administrations’ budget by about 5 percent and that the authority to implement a hike in land and building tax rates falls on the local governments.
“The austerity measures […] are not just for one or two regencies, but for around over 500 regencies and cities. They also apply to all ministries and institutions in the central government. So if there is a specific incident, like what happened in Pati, it is purely a local dynamic,” Hasan said.
Read also: Massive protest erupts in Pati demanding regent’s resignation
Echoing Hasan, Cabinet Secretary Prasetyo Hadi also dismissed concerns that the central government’s cost-cutting measures resulted in Pati regent Sudewo’s decision for a tax hike.
“[Setting the land and building tax] is a policy made by local administrations, which could be different from one regency to the next, as is the case with Pati and its neighboring regencies. In our opinion, [the planned tax hike in Pati] is not because [of a lack of state funding],” he said on Wednesday.
Gerindra secretary-general Sugiono, who also serves as foreign minister, said the party was closely monitoring the protests in Pati and that he had urged Sudewo to heed the people’s aspirations.
“I have conveyed to Sudewo the importance of listening to the public and adopting policies that do not add to their burden,” Sugiono said, as quoted by Antara.
Read also: Pati regent scraps 250 percent property tax hike following viral backlash
Sugiono said that all regional heads from Gerindra should take into account Prabowo’s directive as either the party chair or the President that every policy must consider its impact on the most vulnerable citizens.
The demonstrations in Pati ended on Wednesday a couple hours after Sudewo appeared atop a police armored tactical vehicle and addressed protestors by issuing an apology and pledging to “do better”.
Nevertheless, all eight parties in the Pati Legislative Council (DPRD), including Gerindra, agreed to exercise the right of inquiry to investigate Sudewo’s policies and formed a team to investigate potential misconduct as a basis for impeachment.
In response, Sudewo said he respected the council’s decision but firmly stated that he would not step down from his position.