Prabowo: Do not be impressed by nations rich from plundering other peoples’ wealth

Prabowo Subianto reminded Indonesians not to be overly enamoured with countries whose wealth comes from plundering the wealth of other nations. He spoke while delivering the Macro Economic Framework and the Principles of Fiscal Policy (KEM-PPKF) at the 19th Plenary Meeting of the DPR RI for the Fifth Session of the 2025-2026 Legislative Year, at the DPR/MPR complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

‘We should not be too enamoured with nations whose wealth comes from the plundering of other nations,’ Prabowo said.

Prabowo also urged Indonesians not to be self-deprecating and not to always admire the teachings of other nations, while the countries concerned are assessed as not implementing what they preach to other states.

However, the President stressed that he was not asking people to hate other nations. Prabowo urged Indonesians to continue learning from other countries, while also studying history to avoid repeating the dark experiences suffered by their ancestors.

‘There is a saying that those who do not learn from history will be punished by history, and will repeat the same dark history experienced by their forebears. This maxim applies in many countries,’ the President said.

Prabowo noted that the founders understood that if Nusantara’s leaders were weak and not united, Indonesia’s wealth would continue to be taken by powers from beyond Nusantara.

In his speech, Prabowo also referred to the history of the Netherlands, which had the highest per capita GDP in the world for centuries from the 16th century to the 19th century. He argued that this occurred because the Netherlands controlled Nusantara — now the Republic of Indonesia.

‘A country that perhaps spans from north to south might take eight hours to travel by vehicle. From the sea to their borders it might be four hours by vehicle; they could have the highest GDP in the world. Why? Because they controlled Nusantara, they controlled the territory that is now the Republic of Indonesia,’ Prabowo said.

President Prabowo delivered the remarks in person before the DPR RI on the macroeconomic framework and the KEM-PPKF for the RAPBN 2027 at the 19th DPR RI plenary session for the 2025-2026 Session Year. He becomes the first Indonesian president to deliver the opening remarks of the RAPBN, which includes the macroeconomic framework and the main fiscal policy, before members of the DPR RI.

The plenary session on Wednesday was attended by 451 DPR members, meeting the required quorum according to Speaker Puan Maharani.

In the session, President Prabowo was accompanied by Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Also present were members of the Merah Putih Cabinet, including Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto; Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono; and Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Djamari Chaniago.

Also in attendance were Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Foreign Minister Sugiono, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, and Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.

Also present were Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the OJK Friderica Widyasari Dewi, and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the LPS Anggito Abimanyu.

Wednesday’s DPR plenary session discussed three main agendas: the government’s presentation of the KEM-PPKF RAPBN 2027; the Legislative Body’s report on the evaluation of changes to Prolegnas RUU Priority 2026, followed by decision-making; and the factional opinions on the DPR RI’s Commission III initiative bill regarding changes to Law No. 2 of 2002 on the Indonesian Police, followed by decision to become a bill proposed by the DPR RI.