Cites Fishermen's Ice Crisis, Prabowo Plans to Build Cold Storage in Every Coastal Village

President Prabowo Subianto said the government would undertake a sweeping intervention to address the problems faced by fishermen, including difficulties in obtaining ice and fuel. Accordingly, the General Chairman of the Gerindra Party said he would build cold storage facilities or refrigerated warehouses in every fishing village. ‘We will ensure every fisherman can have ice. We will set up ice-making installations in each fishing village. We will establish refrigerated cold storage rooms in every fishing village, and we will create SPBU dedicated to each fishing village,’ Prabowo said at a plenary session of the Indonesian DPR at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. He also stated that the government aims to develop 5,000 fishing villages in the next three years. In his speech, Prabowo also conveyed that Indonesians fundamentally seek a decent life and the fulfilment of basic needs. ‘Our people do not dream of living a life of riches, but they dream of a life that is decent, good,’ he said. Prabowo noted that people hope to meet daily needs, ranging from food, health, education, employment with adequate income, and living in decent homes. ‘They dream of eating well every day, being able to buy milk for their children, being able to obtain medicine when their child is sick, or when their father is ill. They dream of owning a decent home,’ he added. He also touched on the constitutional mandate regarding the management of natural resources. ‘That the earth and water and all natural wealth contained therein must be enjoyed by all the people of Indonesia,’ Prabowo said.