Prabowo labels leaders who incite riots as traitors

President Prabowo Subianto has labelled leaders who deliberately incite the destruction and burning of public facilities as traitors, during the commemoration of the 79th National Cooperatives Day at the Indonesia Arena, Jakarta, on Sunday. In his speech, Prabowo called on all elements of the nation to maintain unity despite differing political choices and to respect the results of democracy. “Let us unite. It is not a problem that we are all different. Having different parties is not a problem. We competed well for years, no problem. Whoever wins, please go ahead. Don’t, if you lose, want to burn things. What kind of nation is that? A leader who advocates burning in this republic is a traitorous leader,” said Prabowo. “I believe the law of karma will catch up with them,” he added. “I ran five times in elections, lost four times. I never once told my people to burn things. I didn’t even hold a demonstration. I attended my rival’s inauguration. I came, I paid my respects, I offered my congratulations.” Prabowo likened political contestation to a football match that must be played with a spirit of sportsmanship. He said competition is normal in a democracy and must not lead to anarchic actions. “This is Gus Imin, he was first with me, then he wasn’t with me, but there’s no problem, because in his heart, he also wants the best for Indonesia. And now, he is with me for Indonesia. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no problem,” said Prabowo. Muhaimin Iskandar ran as a vice presidential candidate alongside Anies Baswedan in the 2024 presidential election, competing against the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud Md pairings. Concluding his speech, the President called on all elements of the nation to reunite after the political contestation ended and affirmed the government remains open to constructive criticism. “We are one nation, one homeland, one language. We are family. Prove that the Indonesian nation is a unique nation, a united nation. We compete, afterwards we unite. Work for all the people. This is the Indonesian nation. Don’t just be cynical. If you don’t agree, if you don’t want to work, just sit down quietly. But, we accept criticism. We accept criticism. Criticism is good. It means correction, vigilance. We will accept criticism,” said Prabowo.