Prabowo guarantees subsidised goods will reach the people

President Prabowo Subianto has guaranteed that goods receiving government subsidies will be received by the public at subsidised prices.

In his opening address at the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama Congress at the Bahrul Ulum Tambakberas Islamic Boarding School in Jombang Regency, East Java, on Thursday evening, President Prabowo stressed that subsidised goods must not be traded for profit.

Prabowo said this guarantee would be strengthened by the operation of tens of thousands of Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives in the near future.

“Soon tens of thousands of Merah Putih Cooperatives will be operating. We will guarantee that all subsidised goods for the people will reach the people at the lowest possible subsidised prices,” President Prabowo said, monitored online via the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel in Jakarta on Thursday.

According to the President, the presence of Merah Putih Cooperatives in various regions is expected to become part of the mechanism for distributing subsidised goods so that the benefits of subsidies are truly felt by the public.

On that occasion, President Prabowo also said that Indonesia faces various challenges, including the impact of a strong El Nino weather pattern and the geographical conditions of an archipelagic nation.

Nevertheless, the Head of State is optimistic that Indonesia has great strength and natural resources to face these challenges.

“Our country is strong and getting stronger,” Prabowo said.

The President added that the government has also discovered significant natural resource potential, including gas and gold reserves.

“I have seen our results now. We have found gas fields, extraordinary gold fields — our wealth is remarkable,” President Prabowo said.

Previously, the Ministry of Cooperatives estimated that around 40,000 Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives could begin operating by the end of 2026, in line with the acceleration of supporting infrastructure development for the programme in various regions.

The government is using a realistic approach that prioritises quality in the implementation of the Merah Putih Cooperative programme.