President Prabowo Subianto has reminded all parties that Indonesia\ntoday is facing multidimensional problems. In essence, the President\u2019s\nwarning aligns with the aspirations of various elements of society\nvoiced almost daily on social media platforms. To prevent the escalation\nof these problems, the President\u2019s warning should be promptly followed\nup by his aides with an initial step in the form of mitigating these\nmultidimensional problems.<\/p>\n
At a plenary cabinet session on Monday (20 July), President Prabowo\nSubianto revealed that many problems persist in Indonesia. The President\ndid not expect the range of issues to exceed his estimates. The problems\nhe detailed include inadequate teacher salaries, insufficient employment\nopportunities, and the very large number of poor people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that our teachers\u2019 salaries are insufficient; we\nunderstand that job opportunities are lacking; we understand that\nextreme poverty remains widespread. We understand that these are all our\nproblems. This is precisely what we were elected and given a mandate to\nresolve,\u201d Prabowo said, as monitored online via the Presidential\nSecretariat\u2019s YouTube channel. The head of state is determined that the\ngovernment he leads will resolve all these issues.<\/p>\n
To complement the problems outlined by the President, other issues\nthat must not be oversimplified deserve mention. These range from the\nweakening performance of the national economy, the collapse of the\nprivate sector including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),\ndiminishing purchasing power and public consumption, increasingly\nrampant corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN), to societal\npolarisation stemming from political residue.<\/p>\n
There is also the state\u2019s obligation to continue rehabilitation and\nreconstruction in a number of disaster-affected areas in Sumatra. This\nseries of problems has become a fact that must not be concealed, so that\nunderstanding of the multidimensional problems becomes ever more\ncomprehensive.<\/p>\n
A thorough understanding of these multidimensional problems will\ncreate space for the formulation of solutions without creating new\nproblems. Recently, new policies have often been introduced or imposed\nthat reflect the government\u2019s ego, particularly tax policies. The\naggressiveness of tax base expansion has resulted in an increasingly\nnarrow space for growth in the productive activities of ordinary\npeople.<\/p>\n
Not long ago, labour communities and trade unions voiced protests\nover the imposition of income tax (PPh 21) on withdrawals of the Old-Age\nSecurity (JHT) fund. In a number of regions, local residents have\ncontinuously voiced rejection of the aggressiveness of regional\ngovernments in expanding the tax base. That expansion has even targeted\nsmall food stalls and street food carts.<\/p>\n
When the socio-economic reality of society is in good shape,\nexpanding the tax base can be accepted. Conversely, if the economy is\ndemonstrably troubled due to weakening purchasing power amid an\nunemployment bubble, expanding the tax base will only result in a\nnarrowing of the room to manoeuvre and the growth of productive\nactivities for ordinary people.<\/p>\n
It must be realised together that amid the pressure of these\nmultidimensional problems, the public has never surrendered. On the\ncontrary, with the spirit of self-reliance and resilience, people are\nstruggling to free themselves from this pressure. Communities in several\nregions have even taken the initiative to independently repair damaged\ninfrastructure that hinders their access to productive activities.<\/p>\n
There are several examples of such self-reliant initiatives.\nResidents of Bener Meriah Regency, Aceh, worked together to raise more\nthan Rp 1 billion to repair the Enang-Enang bridge in Pintu Rime Gayo\ndistrict. In Central Java, residents did the same. Residents of\nSukoharjo, Grobogan, Blora and Pati raised funds independently to repair\ndamaged roads. In this context, rather than helping or facilitating\nthese productive activities, the government has instead made the public\nuncomfortable with its tax base expansion.<\/p>\n
Amid the current poor socio-economic reality of society, tax base\nexpansion in a number of regions will, sooner or later, breed tension\nbetween regional governments and local residents. Tax base expansion is\na case in point of a policy aimed at addressing the budget deficit while\ncreating side effects or problems that must be borne by the public.<\/p>\n
The State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) recorded a deficit of\nRp 196.5 trillion in the first half of 2026. Beyond tax contributions\nfrom the people to address this deficit, the government still has\nseveral options. After all, has not President Prabowo already given a\nkind of indication about distortions or irregularities in the Indonesian\neconomy? These distortions take the form of state wealth leakage worth\nthousands of trillions of rupiah, or hundreds of billions of dollars per\nyear, through various illegal practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough practices of under-invoicing, falsified reports, transfer\npricing and smuggling that are truly unfair to our nation,\u201d Prabowo\nsaid. The head of state also assured that the government would put an\nend to these long-standing illegal practices.<\/p>\n
In the context of restoring balance to the APBN, the President\u2019s\naides are being encouraged to turn Prabowo\u2019s determination to secure\nstate wealth into concrete action. The first step is mitigating the\nleakage of state wealth. The authorised and relevant state institutions\nshould take the initiative to carry out this mitigation promptly.<\/p>\n
The figures and seniors of the Central Leadership Council (Dewan\nPimpinan Nasional or Depinas) of SOKSI (Sentral Organisasi Karyawan\nSwadiri Indonesia) have paid special attention to President Prabowo\u2019s\nremarks on the multidimensional problems Indonesia currently faces. This\ntheme was the subject of a SOKSI seniors\u2019 discussion forum titled\n\u2018Mitigating the Economic Crisis - Preventing the Potential for Political\nInstability\u2019, held recently in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
To refresh our memory, SOKSI figures and seniors pointed to history\u2019s\nrecord of many countries failing to manage the seeds of crisis. That\nhistory provides evidence that economic weakness, if not managed wisely,\nalways leads to rising social tension and political instability.<\/p>\n
It is in this context that Indonesia must care about, study and\nanticipate the impact of slowing world economic growth, geopolitical\nuncertainty arising from conflicts in various regions, global supply\nchain disruptions, fluctuations in energy and food prices, and\nincreasing fiscal pressure in many countries. With attentiveness and\nanticipatory policies, Indonesia can formulate further steps to\nstrengthen national resilience.<\/p>\n
SOKSI figures and seniors assess that Indonesia still has a\nrelatively sound economic foundation, with economic growth of around\nfive per cent and controlled inflation. However, various challenges such\nas weakening public purchasing power, rising lay-offs in a number of\nlabour-intensive sectors, and pressure on the middle class require\nmeasured mitigation steps so they do not develop into broader political\nand security problems.<\/p>\n
Crisis mitigation must not wait until conditions deteriorate. The\nexperience of various countries proves that when economic pressure is\nleft to fester, what follows is not merely slower economic growth, but\nalso social discontent, political polarisation, rising crime, and\ndiminishing public trust in state institutions. Therefore, economic\npolicy must be made the most important instrument in safeguarding\nnational stability.<\/p>\n
Multilateral institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank and the\nOECD remind us that the global economy remains in a phase of high\nuncertainty due to geopolitical fragmentation, trade wars, climate\nchange and technological disruption. These conditions require every\nnation to continue strengthening domestic economic resilience.<\/p>\n
Bambang Soesatyo, Member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI),\n15th Speaker of the People\u2019s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), 20th\nSpeaker of the DPR RI, 7th Chair of Commission III of the DPR RI, and\npostgraduate (doctoral) lecturer in Legal Science at Borobudur\nUniversity, Jayabaya University and the Defence University (Unhan)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-details-multidimensional-problems-mitigation-needed-to-prevent-escalation-1785232551", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }