Prabowo Asks Professors: Why Can't Indonesia Make Its Own Car After 81 Years?
President Prabowo Subianto has urged the academic community to become more active in fostering innovation for the nation’s progress. He questioned why Indonesia has yet to achieve national self-sufficiency.
These remarks were made by Prabowo during the 2026 National Seminar of the Convention on Science, Technology, and Indonesian Industry (KSTI) at JCC, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (26/06/2026). Prabowo initially spoke about his frequent visits to university campuses to discuss various strategic national issues.
“My brothers and sisters, that is why I visit campuses repeatedly. I come and ask the smartest people. I ask Mr Brian, I ask Professor Sigit, I ask the professors at IPB, why we cannot have wheat seeds? Why must we import wheat?” said Prabow.
Furthermore, Prabowo questioned the productivity of Indonesian palm oil, which he assessed as lagging behind Malaysia. He then touched upon the national automotive industry.
“I ask, why is the palm oil productivity per hectare in Malaysia higher than ours? Why? I always ask them. Why, after 81 years, can Indonesia not produce its own cars?” he stated.
Prabowo emphasised that these questions are directed at academics who possess high scientific capacity to find solutions to the nation’s various problems.
“I stand before you. You who hold PhDs. Why do we not have it? We buy 10 million motorcycles every year, why is there no factory made in Indonesia?” he continued.
Nevertheless, Prabowo expressed his appreciation for the steps taken by several universities that have begun contributing to the development of the national automotive industry. He remains optimistic that Indonesia is moving towards the capability of producing its own cars.
“But I thank the universities; I thank them because we are starting to move towards having our own cars. Thank you. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction in my heart when I was inaugurated. After returning from the inauguration, I was able to ride in an Indonesian-made car,” he said.