Prabowo Candidly Admits to Waking Up Early in the Morning to Monitor Global Issues on YouTube
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - President Prabowo Subianto has revealed his habit of intensely monitoring developments in issues and news, even into the early hours of the morning. He described himself as part of the “news junkies” who continuously follow the flow of global information.
“This is it, we are news junkies. We’ve already got this bad habit,” said Prabowo during the “President Prabowo Answers” programme, which aired on Thursday (19/3/2026).
The statement was made in response to a question from political analyst Rizal Mallarangeng about how a leader maintains balance amid the fast-paced and pressure-filled global dynamics, including in terms of rest.
“How do you take a step back and relax to unwind in the midst of this rapidly unfolding history? For example, Churchill, even in the midst of war, still maintained rest time. If there was a bit of free time, he would paint and feed the swans. Ronald Reagan took naps, read comics, and rode horses. What about a Prabowo like you?” asked Rizal.
In response, Prabowo stressed that he still considers sleep to be important, despite having a flexible rest pattern. Prabowo admitted that he can sleep anywhere and anytime.
“So maybe this is knowledge I gained in the military. For me, for example, when riding in a car I can sleep, in a helicopter I can sleep, in a plane I can sleep,” he explained.
He also admitted to utilising short intervals between activities for rest. Prabowo gave the example that when attending two or three meetings, he always makes time for 10-30 minutes between activities to sleep.
“For me, 15 minutes to recharge like that, especially 20 minutes. My ideal is actually 30 minutes,” he continued.
On the other hand, his habit as a “news junkie” causes Prabowo to often wake up in the early hours to follow global developments through digital platforms.
“So sometimes I sleep at one in the morning, but wake up again at three in the morning. Why? This is the problem, technology. There’s YouTube. We’re four hours behind the Middle East, then several hours from America. So I have to follow what’s happening. And that’s probably what keeps me always a bit up to date,” he explained.
According to Prabowo, this habit is important so that he can respond quickly to various global developments that impact Indonesia.
“Well, because I have the habit of waking up at three, I open YouTube. Three in the morning in Singapore is, if I’m not mistaken, three in the afternoon in Washington DC. So if President Biden has just said something, I can read it right away. When it’s nine or ten in the morning my time for a speech, I’m the first to give my response to Biden’s speech,” he concluded.