JAKARTA: The Indonesian government will host a week-long mountain glamping retreat for hundreds of regional leaders, a presidential official said on Wednesday (Feb 19), sparking criticism as President Prabowo Subianto imposes widespread budget cuts.
More than 500 mayors, governors and regents will be taken to a military-style academy in the Central Java city of Magelang, where the recently inaugurated president’s cabinet stayed in luxury tents in October.
The 73-year-old former general, accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto in the late 1990s, has pledged to drill and unite the country’s top politicians, choosing the mountains of Central Java for that mission.
The camping trip for 503 politicians will take place between Feb 21 and Feb 28, presidential spokesman Hariqo Wibawa Satria told AFP, confirming Prabowo would attend in some capacity.
The regional heads will be trained on good governance, improvement of public services and “chemistry building”, he said.
But the gathering – costing 13.2 billion rupiah (US$808,000) from the home ministry budget – has prompted outrage online and criticism from NGOs.
“What’s the urgency? Why should it be glamping with aides? A cheaper version of camping should be doable,” a user posted in Indonesian on social media site X.
