GREAT Institute: Prabowo’s Two Years Mark a Shift and a Clearer Commitment to the People
Jakarta (ANTARA) – GREAT Institute executive director Sudarto said President Prabowo Subianto’s first year in office marked a change in the government’s orientation, while the second year showed how its commitment to the people was being translated into budget priorities, public services and the use of state authority.
He said the transformation had both economic and political significance, with the state taking greater responsibility for correcting the concentration of economic benefits among a limited group and expanding public access to basic needs and economic resources.
“What we appreciate about President Prabowo is his political courage in using state authority to correct the concentration of economic benefits and expand public welfare,” Sudarto said in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday.
He said Prabowo’s commitment was reflected in budget priorities, worker protection and efforts to regulate control of resources following a shift in paradigm. The state, he said, was taking greater responsibility for the direction and distribution of the benefits of development.
During Prabowo’s presidency, the economy grew by 5.11 per cent in 2025, while growth in the first quarter of 2026 reached 5.61 per cent – the highest first-quarter figure since 2012, based on comparisons of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data series.
At the same time, he said, the poverty rate fell from 8.57 per cent in September 2024 to 8.07 per cent in March 2026. The number of people living in poverty declined by about 1.13 million, from 24.06 million to 22.93 million.
He said the combination of stronger economic performance and a reduction in poverty provided an increasingly concrete foundation for the welfare agenda.
He also said action against corruption and the recovery of public resources had produced measurable financial results. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) reported asset recovery of Rp1.531 trillion in 2025, more than twice the amount in 2024.
The recovery of assets, he said, demonstrated how law enforcement could strengthen public resources through the work of anti-corruption institutions within their legal authority.
He viewed the state’s stewardship of national wealth for the people’s prosperity as a political achievement for President Prabowo as well.
“Public wealth must be directed towards extending the benefits of development to the people,” Sudarto said.
On democracy and human rights, he said the establishment of the Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry of Culture gave each area its own ministerial-level body responsible for it.
President Prabowo had also granted amnesty to 1,178 people convicted of crimes through Presidential Decree No. 17 of 2025, he said. He regarded the strengthening of institutions and the exercise of constitutional powers as part of a welfare agenda encompassing people’s dignity, rights and lives.
He said the task for all parties now was to build on this progress so that more families could create secure and prosperous lives.
“President Prabowo deserves recognition for having the courage to set welfare priorities and mobilise the government to pursue them on a broad scale,” Sudarto said.