Jakarta, April 26 -- Home Affairs official Agus Fatoni urged regional governments to adopt creative financing to sustain development amid global uncertainty and tighter local budgets.

He said regions can no longer rely solely on central government transfers and must seek alternative funding sources to keep development on track.

"If regions want better funding, they must pursue breakthroughs and innovation," he said in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

He said creative financing can start with tax and levy reforms by intensifying and expanding regional revenue collection.

A second step is optimizing regional government-owned enterprises, noting fewer than half of 1,097 entities nationwide are currently profitable.

Third, he called for...