Prabowo slams ‘Dark Indonesia’ protests, predicts country's bright future as he defends ‘fat’ Cabinet
President Prabowo Subianto cited 2022 predictions by global investment firm Goldman Sachs that Indonesia would be the world’s fourth-largest economy in 2050. However, some analysts warn that this rosy outlook might be limited.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto speaks during the closing ceremony of the Democrat Party congress in Jakarta on Feb 25, 2025. (Photo: Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau/Muchlis Jr)
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JAKARTA: Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto has hit back at recent “Dark Indonesia” protests in the country, depicting a bright future as he expressed confidence that the archipelago would become the world’s fourth-biggest economy in 2050.
Speaking on Tuesday (Feb 25) during the congress of the Democrat Party, part of Prabowo’s KIM Plus coalition, Prabowo said better days lie ahead for Indonesia’s economic future, citing a well-known multinational investment bank, as he slammed the demonstrations against his austerity measures and a potentially bleak future.
“There is an economic and statistical prediction. Ladies and gentlemen, they say the number one (economy) will be China overtaking America. Number two is America. Number three is India. This is Goldman Sachs,” Prabowo said.
“Indonesia is number four … (in) 2050,” he added, referring to predictions made in 2022 by the world’s second-largest investment bank.
“That's cool. Indonesia is above Germany, ladies and gentlemen. Above Japan, above England, above France."
However, some analysts said that the optimistic predictions were limited and added that Prabowo could have responded better to the demonstrations by addressing the protestors' concerns.
"We can never predict what the future will be like, even in 2050 … As we know, in 2020 alone we faced COVID-19 and then there was the Russia-Ukraine war and nobody had predicted these," economist Andry Satrio Nugroho from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance told CNA.
He believes Goldman Sachs’ prediction was based on limited assumptions and it did not consider factors that are still unknown.
Indonesia’s economy is driven by domestic consumption and has a big population, but that does not mean the gross domestic product per capita would be big, he added.
Also, Andry said Prabowo's response showed a failure to read the young demonstrators and their concerns.
“It seems the president is tone-deaf as shown by his statement that Indonesia is not dark. He should have answered (the students’ claims) by revealing what the government would want to do to get out of darkness," said Andry.
Prabowo’s remarks came after thousands of students took to the streets in major Indonesian cities last week to rally against the government’s policies.
Dubbed “Dark Indonesia” protests, signalling Indonesia’s potential dark future, the students opposed several government policies.
Among them were the government’s budget cuts which enabled it to save about US$44 billion for its nutritious free meal flagship programme and Danantara, a sovereign wealth fund launched on Monday aimed to realise Prabowo’s ambition of 8 per cent annual economic growth during his first term.
Indonesia’s economic growth is currently at about 5 per cent.
But the budget cuts come at the cost of slashing funds for the public, claimed the protesters.
Prabowo dismissed the concerns and said the young generations would benefit the most from the austerity measures.
“The ones who will enjoy it are you, brothers and sisters, the young ones. Who sees Indonesia (as) dark?" Prabowo said.
He added that one of the challenges his administration is facing is to cut budgets since some people are in a comfortable situation and do not want to be affected by the budget reallocation.
However, at the same event, Prabowo defended his large Cabinet.
“Some say our Cabinet is fat, there are many (people). But if (it contains) many great people, why not, the Indonesian people are the ones who enjoy it," said Prabowo.
The Red and White Cabinet comprises 48 ministers, 56 vice ministers and five minister-level senior officials, making it Indonesia’s biggest Cabinet in decades.
The Cabinet was announced on Oct 20 last year, the same day Prabowo was inaugurated as Indonesia’s eighth president and is expected to last until 2029.
"DOUBLE STANDARD"
However, analysts CNA spoke to said Prabowo seemed to apply a double standard between public officials and other civil servants who are feeling the pinch of his cuts.
Economist Andry said other countries such as the US and Vietnam are also trying to undertake efficiency measures.
He pointed out that Vietnam is slashing its Cabinet and reducing upper senior-level jobs instead of staffers.
“What is happening in Indonesia is, in my opinion, a double standard.
“Those who must sacrifice in these efficiency measures are not public officials but those staff who work in ministries and agencies,” said Andry.
COMMUNICATE BETTER
While the government’s intention to save costs is actually a good step, analysts believe it should have taken other measures first.
Political lecturer from the University of Indonesia Aditya Perdana said the government failed to convey why austerity measures had to be taken.
“He (Prabowo) has not said that efficiency measures are taken because we have a lot of debts.
“Meaning, the money is not there. There are not a lot of investments,” said Aditya.
The government did not want to explain because it did not want to show that it was weak, Aditya opined.
“Instead, it wants to show optimism but at the same time, the public deserves to know what is going on in the government.”
Meanwhile, political analyst Nicky Fahrizal from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said Prabowo should have focused on solving fundamental problems in Indonesia first before talking about becoming one of the world’s biggest economies.
“This would be ... how to improve governance, so that corruption can be suppressed from upstream to downstream, and how to enforce the law effectively against corruption,” he said.
“And how programmes which eradicate poverty target the right people and are relevant. If these all have been resolved, I am sure Indonesia can become a world economic power.”
He mentioned how the free nutritious meal programme for students was launched in a hurry and since Danantara’s launch, the Jakarta stock exchange composite index has weakened, indicating a lack of investors’ trust.
“So everything seems to be done in a rush,” said Nicky.
“If this continues in the next five years over and over until the end of Prabowo’s term, Indonesia will never be a global economic power. It will just stay like this … it won’t grow but won’t go backwards."
