Prabowo Affirms Commitment to Enforce Article 33 of 1945 Constitution

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the mandate of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution to address economic inequality within society.

“I am very confident that we will implement Article 33, certainly with wisdom and prudence, but we will implement it; I am confident Indonesia will rise quickly,” President Prabowo stated during his speech at the 18th National Deliberation of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) in Bandar Lampung on Wednesday, as quoted from a Presidential Secretariat broadcast.

The President stated that the national economic blueprint designed by the nation’s founders has drifted from its intended path. According to Prabowvo, the current system actually favours the expansion of the conglomerate sector.

In his view, this inequality is clearly visible in the capital financing structure for small-scale business actors.

The President noted a disparity in the setting of interest rates within the banking sector. He compared small-scale communities accessing super-micro credit, who must bear interest burdens of up to 24 per cent, against large entrepreneurs borrowing from state-owned banks, who are only charged between nine and ten per cent.

President Prabowo requested that economic regulations, designed as a collective effort based on the principle of kinship, should not merely be lip service. This emphasis was directed at all domestic economic actors.

In accordance with the Constitution, branches of production that are vital to the state and control the livelihoods of the many must be controlled by the state. This includes the management of the earth, water, and the natural wealth contained within it.

The President added that all the wealth of the archipelago must be managed independently so that the results can be used for the greatest possible prosperity of the Indonesian people.