Prabowo: If We Are Slandered, Regard It as a Warning

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto considers criticism to be a warning that makes him vigilant. He stated that criticism is part of democracy that must be conveyed responsibly. “We will accept those corrections. If we are slandered, if we are vilified, regard it as a warning so that we remain vigilant,” Prabowo said during his briefing in front of members of the Merah Putih Cabinet, quoted from the YouTube broadcast of the Presidential Secretariat, Wednesday (8/4/2026). Prabowo said this phenomenon also occurred when he decided to build bridges in villages. “Those who want to build bridges, let’s build bridges. Those who don’t want to join in building bridges, no problem. Please sit, watch, or whatever, you can criticise, that’s fine,” Prabowo said. “But I don’t understand, if someone is trying to build a bridge, there are those who sit around, they don’t want to help build the bridge, but they criticise. ‘You’re stupid. The wood is wrong, don’t put it there. The nails are wrong, they should be here. The chains are wrong.’ Everything is wrong,” he continued. On the other hand, he stated that building the bridge was done to meet the needs of villagers who have long had difficulty crossing rivers. “(They say) ‘You’re stupid. You want to build a bridge, stupid.’ Yes, I’m stupid, but the people in this village ask for a bridge, I build a bridge, for our people,” Prabowo emphasised. “This is an issue for us, we must be vigilant, we will accept those corrections,” Prabowo said.