Prabowo Jests with Jumhur Hidayat at the Marsinah Museum: When Was the Last Time You Were Imprisoned?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - President Prabowo Subianto made a jest to Environment Minister and General Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPSI), Jumhur Hidayat, during the inauguration of the Marsinah Museum and Guest House in Nganjuk Regency, East Java, Saturday (16/5/2026).

In his speech, Prabowo greeted each of the officials and ministers in attendance.

When mentioning Jumhur Hidayat’s name, Prabowo alluded to the minister’s background as a labour activist who had previously faced legal issues on several occasions.

“Minister of Political and Security Affairs, General TNI (ret.) Djamari Chaniago, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono, Minister of Environment who is also the General Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions,” said Prabowo, as seen on the Setpres YouTube channel, Saturday.

“Why aren’t you wearing a labour union shirt? When was the last time you were imprisoned? You kept going in and out of prison, now you’re a minister,” Prabowo said, which was met with laughter from the guests.

He then added that a person’s life journey can change at any time.

“We don’t know when someone will be on this stage, we don’t know,” Prabowo continued.

On that occasion, Prabowo also greeted a number of other ministers in attendance, including Minister of Manpower Yassierli, Minister of Indonesian Migrant Workers Mukhtarudin, Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman, and Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Arifah Fauzi.

The atmosphere of the speech became more relaxed when Prabowo mentioned Arifah Fauzi’s hometown, which he said was from East Java.

“Wow, Nganjuk has produced these great figures. You have to find a river, bathe in the Nganjuk river, and you will become a great figure,” said Prabowo.

He even joked that anyone who wanted to become president should come to Nganjuk in secret.

“Come on, who wants to be president, come to Nganjuk at night so that no reporters see you,” he said.

In 2021, Jumhur, who was a defendant in a case of alleged spreading false news, was sentenced to 10 months in prison by the panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court.