Megawati Says China Has a 200-Year Plan Ahead, Indonesia Still in 'Poco-Poco' Mode

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s fifth president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, revealed the differences between China and Indonesia in planning their futures. Megawati stated that China is already thinking 200 years ahead, while Indonesia is likened to ‘poco-poco’. “Why has China, which was once just a bamboo curtain brought by Bung Karno to the Asia Africa Conference, now advanced so much? That’s because they properly built their nation and character,” Megawati said in her speech at the conferral of the Emeritus Professor title to Arief Hidayat at Borobudur University, Jakarta, on Saturday (2/5/2026). “Now we are like poco-poco, no direction, just going our own way,” she continued. “President Xi Jinping writes letters to me every time there’s a congress. Now, Mega, I’m told for the last congress or whatever, to make one for the future. So, 100 years,” said Megawati. Megawati explained that China currently has at least a development plan for the next 200 years. On the other hand, Indonesia lacks a clear long-term development plan. “So now China has one for the next 200 years. Come on, what are the smart people for? Can’t we make something like that too, on how this country should be? What about food?” Megawati questioned. One example is the discussion on revising the Election Law (RUU Pemilu), which is considered stalled in the House of Representatives (DPR RI) to the point where there is talk of the government taking over the deliberation. “Now it’s buzzing, about the upcoming elections. I even think, is this really for the people or for whom? Yes. Because why? If even the DPR up to today is to be taken over by the government,” said Megawati. “I say, why take it over by the government, it shows that, in my opinion, the current situation is what I call poco-poco,” she added.