Dasco Calls on Civil Society to Strengthen National Unity

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, has urged civil society to strengthen national unity. Dasco said that the solidarity of civil society is the key to the smooth running of a good government. ‘We need national unity and contributions that are not empty slogans; that is what we ask of our civil society colleagues,’ Dasco said on Friday (6 March 2026). The Acting Chairman of the Gerindra Party criticised civil society for mutual taunting on social media. Dasco said this situation is no longer healthy. ‘Because today our civil society is not cohesive; they taunt each other, question government policies in an unhealthy way; on social media I see it is not healthy,’ he said. Dasco mentioned one thing the Prabowo Subianto presidency needs to realise its promises, especially to prosper the people, namely national unity. Dasco did not object to civil society expressing criticism or input. However, he hoped such criticism would be built on nationalism and good intentions. ‘If we ask, Prabowo only needs one national unity—both in criticizing and in offering ideas, and then real contributions,’ he said. Therefore, Dasco asked all parties to give the Prabowo administration time to work as best as possible. Public trust in the current administration, he said, is believed to bring welfare to the nation. ‘What I would ask is: how long will civil society give national unity to Prabowo so that he has time to realise his promises for the welfare of the people?’ Dasco said.