Prabowo Jokes in Response to Criticism Labelling Him as Stubborn

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - President Prabowo responded light-heartedly to criticisms labelling him as a stubborn figure. During his briefing before members of the Cabinet Merah Putih, Prabowo even held his head to prove that it was indeed hard. “The last one is ‘Prabowo is stubborn’, if I’m called stubborn, I have to accept it, oh let me try holding my head,” Prabowo joked during his briefing at the Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026). He cited the example of Iranian fighters who were called stubborn by many parties, even though they had been threatened by other countries. “For a nation, sometimes being stubborn is needed. In the past, our founding fathers were stubborn, better to die than be colonised again, stubborn,” Prabowo emphasised. However, he regarded the criticisms as a form of warning from other parties regarding his government’s performance. “This is an issue for us, we must be alert, we will accept those corrections. If we are slandered, if we are vilified, regard it as a warning so that we stay vigilant,” Prabowo stated. “It cannot be denied that we have achieved real milestones, real achievements,” Prabowo said. Despite having achieved several accomplishments, Prabowo acknowledged that the country faces uncertainties due to conflicts in other parts of the world. “Alhamdulillah, our government, where you all are part of the government that I lead. It has been one and a half years, alhamdulillah we have been able to control the direction of development, the direction of our nation’s state,” Prabowo stated.