PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The Governor of West Java, Dedi Mulyadi, gave a public lecture on leadership and public communication to the LXVII Regular Education Student Officers (Pasis Dikreg) of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Command and Command College for the 2026 Academic Year at Grha Widya Adibrata, Indonesian National Armed Forces Command and Command College, Bandung City, Monday (6/4/2026).

In his lecture, the Governor of West Java emphasized the importance of authentic leadership that is not built solely on image.

The figure familiarly known as KDM said that Indonesia needs a leader born from honesty and depth of heart, not just the result of framing or communication engineering.

"What we need today is authentic leadership. Not pretentious leadership, not framing, but leadership born of compassion and love for the nation," KDM said to the student officers.

The figure affectionately known as "Bapak Aing" also discussed the unique character of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) as an institution that is not merely structural but also possesses strong philosophical, ideological, and historical dimensions. He stated that the TNI arose from the conscience of the Indonesian people, who desire independence, peace, and social justice.

He described the TNI as a "cultural milieu," or cultural environment inseparable from natural elements such as land, water, air, and sun. These four elements, KDM said, are a crucial foundation for building national defense strength.

"True soldiers are those who do not betray their land, water, air, and sun because that is where the strength of defense is born," he stressed.

The Power of Ideology

Furthermore, KDM emphasized that defense strength is not solely determined by technology. He believes ideology and collective consciousness are the primary factors in determining a nation's victory in conflict.

"Technology is important, but ideology is the ultimate art. Technology without ideology is just a display item," he said.

On that occasion, he also highlighted the importance of environmental protection as part of the nation's defense system. He believed that excessive exploitation of nature was actually weakening Indonesia's natural defenses.

Furthermore, he criticized the persistently high level of pragmatism among elites, both political and bureaucratic, which he believes could erode national values. He believes that leadership that is overly focused on short-term interests has the potential to weaken national resilience.

Closing his lecture, the leader of West Java emphasized the need to build leadership based on four main pillars: ideological, historical, philosophical, and technocratic. These four pillars must be balanced to meet future challenges.

"Future leadership must be able to integrate ideology, history, philosophy, and technology. Without it, we will only be a nation that is strong on the surface, but fragile on the inside," he concluded.