Prabowo vows crackdown on ‘greednomics’, corruption in first State of the Nation address

JAKARTA: Indonesia will crack down on exploitative business practices or “greednomics”, said President Prabowo Subianto on Friday (Aug 15) in his first State of the Nation address where he also highlighted his government’s achievements since taking office last October.

Speaking at the parliament complex in Jakarta, Prabowo said his government will not tolerate corporations that maintain monopolies, engage in price-fixing, hoard subsidised goods for resale at a profit, or deliberately create shortages to manipulate market prices. 

“There are businessmen who use their wealth … to cheat and sacrifice Indonesian people’s interests to maximise profit.  This for us is unacceptable,” the president said, vowing to punish businesses and individuals who engage in practices he described as “serakahnomics” or “greednomics”. 

“The government that I lead will look out for cases of cheating, manipulation, fraud, hoarding and price fixing… The government that I lead will not hesitate to defend the interest of the people of Indonesia.”

Curbing these “greednomics” practices is one of the reasons Prabowo said he has set up more than 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia, to make sure subsidised goods are not controlled by middle men but instead directly benefit farmers. 

The cooperatives, he added, will also ensure that farmers receive the best price for their produce. 

“There are still way too many starving farmers and fishermen who struggle to sell their crops,” he said. 

“We channel fertiliser from the factories straight to the farmers. We provide farmers with (free) agricultural equipment. Today, I noticed everywhere I went, the farmers were smiling because we buy (produce from them) at stable prices and increase their earnings.”

Prabowo also promised to root out corruption, which he said is rampant “at every level of bureaucracy”.

He said that the government has saved about 300 trillion rupiah (US$18 billion) by slashing “expenses which are prone to corruption and manipulation”, including unnecessary overseas junkets, excessive meetings and other non-essential expenditures.

“We will not hesitate in unravelling major corruption cases,” he said. 

The president also promised to clamp down on illegal mining, which he said is costing the state billions of dollars, as well as on the smuggling of cheap goods from overseas which threatens local producers. 

He also pledged to take actions against officials who are protecting or turning a blind eye on these operations.  

HIGHLIGHTING ACHIEVEMENTS

Another key plank of Prabowo’s address was his free nutritious meal initiative, which he presented as a cornerstone of his efforts to alleviate poverty and “create a generation which is healthy, smart and productive”.

Launched in early January, the programme has now reached more than 82 million schoolchildren and pregnant women, the president said. He touted the pace of its rollout, saying his government had achieved in seven months what “other countries take years to accomplish”.

In his speech lasting just over an hour ahead of the country’s 80th Independence Day on Sunday, Prabowo also highlighted his government’s efforts to provide free health check ups to millions of Indonesians as well as free boarding schools to children from low-income families. 

The president linked these efforts to his long-term “Golden Indonesia 2045” vision, which calls for sustained economic growth and improved human development indicators.

But some experts have raised concerns about these programmes’ hefty price tags and their effects on Indonesia’s economy.

On Jul 1, the Finance Ministry predicted all of these programmes would cause a government deficit of around US$40 billion, or 2.7 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2025.  

The president believed that his administration could address the deficit by boosting revenue and stamp out corruption and wasteful spending. 

One way is through the newly-established sovereign wealth fund Daya Anagata Nusantara (Danantara) mobilising up to US$900 billion in state assets for investment. 

He also mentioned the various economic opportunities created through a number of diplomatic ties he had forged this year such as the planned comprehensive economic partnership agreement between Indonesia and the European Union which is now in its finalisation stage. 

Friday’s State of the Nation address was attended by the country's former presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as well as speakers of parliament from neighbouring countries including Singapore’s Seah Kian Peng and Malaysia’s Johari Abdul and other dignitaries. 

Prabowo is scheduled to deliver another speech later on Friday on what he aims to do over the next one year.