Prabowo Blames Export Fraud for Low Teacher Salaries at NU Conference

President Prabowo Subianto has highlighted the leakage of state funds due to fraudulent export reporting by business actors, resulting in losses of thousands of trillions of rupiah and impacting teacher salaries. “We have lost 908 billion dollars over 34 years, or Rp15,000 trillion. Rp15,000 trillion, brothers and sisters, this is the data I want to present in this forum,” President Prabowo said during his closing speech at the Nahdlatul Ulama National Conference and Grand Conference 2026 in Bangkalan, East Java, according to an official press release from the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday. The President stated he wanted to provide understanding to the kiai present at the NU conference that this budget leakage is why the state lacks funds, affecting the salaries of teachers and civil servants. “I want you, the leaders of NU, as scholars, as teachers, as guides of the people, to understand why teacher salaries cannot be improved, why civil servant salaries cannot be improved, why the budget is always insufficient. It is because the money is not there,” the President said. Prabowo revealed that the massive loss figure was obtained from United Nations Comtrade data processed by the National Economic Council, relating to the phenomenon of under-invoicing or falsified reports, particularly in export activities. According to the President, the manipulation of commodity volumes reported by unscrupulous business actors is the main reason why the state budget for public welfare is always lacking. The Head of State asserted that the systemic leakage, estimated at Rp2,500 trillion annually, is now being addressed on a massive scale by the Red and White Cabinet. Beyond document manipulation, the President also mentioned that the smuggling of valuable commodities such as gold and silver in Indonesian waters is still ongoing. “Only a foolish nation would continue a system where the nation’s wealth does not stay within the nation,” the President remarked. President Prabowo Subianto officially closed the 2026 Nahdlatul Ulama National Conference of Religious Scholars and Grand Conference at the Syaichona Mohammad Cholil Islamic Institute in Bangkalan Regency, East Java.