Prabowo Apologises to His Ministers for Being Too Micromanaging

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto has apologised to his ministers for frequently acting as a micromanager, excessively monitoring and controlling their work.

“I am a hands-on manager. My ministers, forgive me for being too micromanaging. Yes, I admit I am an overly controlling manager. I will call my ministers at two in the morning or five in the morning, and I will ask about the price of eggs today,” Prabowo stated at the Indonesia-Japan Business Forum in Tokyo on Monday (30/3/2026).

The reason, he said, is that some ministers often faint in public. In fact, they have even suffered heart problems.

“So I feel guilty. Because perhaps that is because their superior is too controlling,” Prabowo added.

A micromanager closely monitors everything done by each team member.

For example, a leader always wants to know what their team members are currently doing, how far a certain task has progressed, and tends to get involved in tasks that have already been delegated to team members.

This weakens employee autonomy and can create a toxic work environment.

Having a boss who practises micromanagement means they cannot delegate tasks, lack communication skills with fellow employees or subordinates, and can be very critical, thereby lowering morale and hindering productivity.