President Prabowo Subianto is highly optimistic that Indonesia can\nrise as a major global power or \u201crising giant\u201d when inaugurating the\nelectric commercial vehicle assembly facility of PT VKTR Sakti\nIndustries in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday, 9 April 2026.\nAccording to the Head of State, Indonesia has vast resources,\nparticularly in the energy sector.<\/p>\n
Prabowo stated that the wealth of natural resources serves as a major\nasset for optimism amid global uncertainties. \u201cWe must remain vigilant,\nbut we are optimistic. We will face challenges in the coming months, but\nwe have resources. We have very strong and abundant sources,\u201d he said,\nas quoted from the official statement of the Presidential Secretariat on\nSaturday, 11 April 2026.<\/p>\n
According to the President, to survive, Indonesia must achieve\nself-sufficiency in the most critical areas, primarily food and energy.\n\u201cNext year, we will surprise the whole world; Indonesia is rising. This\ngiant is waking up. We will no longer be the sleeping giant; we are\nrising,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Economist and lecturer at the National Development University Veteran\nJakarta, Achmad Nur Hidayat, stated that abundant natural resources can\nindeed serve as capital, but not as the end goal. Possessing natural\nresources will not make Indonesia rise if those commodities are not\ntransformed into added value.<\/p>\n
Achmad exemplified products like nickel, bauxite, copper, and other\ncommodities. \u201cIf only sold raw or semi-processed, Indonesia will remain\nin its old position as a supplier of raw materials,\u201d he told Tempo on\nFriday, 10 April 2026.<\/p>\n
However, he said, data shows that Indonesia\u2019s capital base is very\nstrong. Indonesia has nickel ore resources of 19.16 billion tonnes with\nreserves of 5.9 billion tonnes. Bauxite resources reach 7.79 billion\ntonnes with reserves of 2.86 billion tonnes. Copper and coal are also\nvery substantial.<\/p>\n
In the energy sector, for instance, Indonesia\u2019s geothermal potential\nis among the largest in the world. \u201cWith such capacity, Indonesia\nactually has sufficient materials to build serious downstream processing\nand reduce dependence on raw exports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Achmad stated that in recent years, the direction of downstream\npolicies has begun to show results. Indonesia\u2019s exports are no longer\nentirely dominated by raw materials. But the problem is that many\nIndonesian processed products still stop at the initial stage.<\/p>\n
He emphasised that the main issue is not a lack of resources, but the\nquality of their utilisation. Another challenge is the direction of\neconomic transition. Indonesia still heavily relies on commodities that\nare easy to sell today, such as coal, while the potential for clean\nenergy like geothermal has not been maximally utilised.<\/p>\n
Further, Achmad mentioned that Indonesia indeed has very strong and\nabundant natural resources. But strength is not enough from the mere\nabundance in the earth\u2019s contents, but from the ability to transform\nnatural wealth into industrial sovereignty.<\/p>\n
If successful, Indonesia will not only escape the trap of being a raw\ncommodity exporter but truly stand as a respected rising giant. \u201cIf it\nfails, we will only remain a large warehouse frequented by buyers, but\nnever truly own our own future,\u201d said Achmad.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economist-responds-to-prabowos-ambition-for-indonesia-to-become-a-rising-giant-1775915442", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }