Bamsoet Supports Prabowo's Plan to Overhaul the Political System Regarding Elections

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Bambang Soesatyo expressed his support for President Prabowo Subianto’s idea of overhauling the political system, specifically transforming elections from being high-cost and transactional into something more substantive.

“The point is, on various occasions — the last I recall was at Sentul — President Prabowo said that we must overhaul the political system. To make it substantive, not like today, which is transactional and brutal,” said Bamsoet, as he is commonly known, answering reporters’ questions in Jakarta on Sunday.

He said the overhaul would also address the issue of widespread corruption cases linked to the high-cost electoral system. Furthermore, Bamsoet noted that restructuring the political system is permitted under the law, and the process would be discussed at the parliamentary level with the government.

“The high-cost elections are causing corruption everywhere. I don’t know where we should start this restructuring, but what is certain is that the political system overhaul is governed by law, and it falls under the DPR’s authority to discuss it with the government,” he said.

Previously, President Prabowo emphasized the importance of overhauling the political system regarding the high cost of elections so as not to burden the state budget. Prabowo made the remarks in his speech at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Golkar Party at the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC) in Bogor Regency, West Java, on December 12, 2025.

“We all feel that there are some things in the democracy we practice that we need to fix together. In my view, we must fix the system, and we should not be ashamed to acknowledge that this system is possibly too expensive,” he said.

Prabowo called on all party chairpersons and political party leaders in attendance to reform the political system that spends tens of trillions in just one or two days every time an election is held.

“I see that our neighboring countries are efficient. Malaysia, Singapore, India — you vote once for local council members, and then those council members elect the governor and the regent. It’s efficient, no endless spending like us, as if we’re rich,” he said.