PKS Highlights National Challenges, Calls on Government to Be Open to Criticism

Jakarta, VIVA – The PKS through the Central Advisory Board (MPP) held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) titled ‘Analisis Lingkungan Strategis Nasional: Dua Tahun Kabinet Merah Putih’ in Jakarta. The forum provided a space for discussion among various circles to address the nation’s fundamental conditions amid the increasingly complex global and national dynamics. PKS MPP chair Mulyanto said Indonesia currently faces multidimensional challenges, ranging from global economic pressure, geopolitics, disruption of digital technology, to issues of food and energy security. ‘Therefore, a healthy, open forum based on cross-group strategic thinking is needed so that the nation can objectively read the direction of changes in the times and prepare constructive national steps that are aligned with the safety and welfare of the people,’ Mulyanto said in a written statement, Thursday, 21 May 2026. Mulyanto, who is also a member of the MPR RI’s Commission on Constitutional Studies, believes that strengthening the nation’s foundations must be achieved through open dialogue between political parties, civil societies, academics, and intellectual groups. In the forum, former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Sudirman Said appreciated PKS for being consistently committed to critical and objective thinking in interpreting the nation’s path. According to Sudirman, intellectual forums such as FGDs are important so that public policy is not trapped in short-term pragmatism but remains anchored to national interests and the future of society. ‘Political parties, as one of the main pillars of democracy, must collaborate with civil society, intellectuals, students, and the middle class who care about the fate of the nation,’ he said. Meanwhile, former Head of the American Studies Programme at the University of Indonesia, Suzie Sudarman, emphasised the importance of Indonesia strengthening its diplomatic autonomy and scientific capacity in facing global geopolitical changes. She argued that the rivalry among world powers and changes in the international economic order require Indonesia to have a more autonomous, adaptive position oriented toward national interests. ‘So that Indonesia is not trapped in the contest of the interests of major powers. Indonesia’s sovereignty lies in the hands of leaders who have a spirit of independence as well as empathise with the people,’ Suzie said.