Prabowo Launches B50, Credits SBY and Jokowi for Policy Continuity

President Prabowo Subianto has emphasised that the mandatory B50 biodiesel programme is the result of cross-administration policy continuity. He stated that the programme was pioneered during the era of the 6th President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), continued by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), and has now entered the B50 implementation phase under his own administration.

Prabowo said the development of biodiesel cannot be separated from the contributions of his predecessors. He assessed that the implementation of B50 is proof of the importance of policy continuity in national development.

‘This is also an achievement of the governments before me, because we have been planning this since 2008. That was the SBY administration, continued by the Jokowi administration, and at the end I am continuing it. It is like a relay race,’ Prabowo said during the inauguration of the Mandatory B50 Biodiesel Programme at the KM 57 Rest Area in Karawang, West Java, on Thursday (9/7/2026).

The President stated that national development will not yield progress if every administration always starts from scratch. Therefore, he invited all parties to appreciate the foundation built by previous governments.

Prabowo also reminded the public of the importance of maintaining unity and stopping the habit of insulting or belittling the work of others.

‘Do not curse, do not insult people, and especially do not slander. There will always be such things because in humanity there are always the Pandawas and the Kurawas. Some choose the evil path, some choose the good path. We are on the straight path, on the right path,’ Prabowo said.

The mandatory B50 Biodiesel programme was officially launched by the government on Thursday (9/7/2026). Through this implementation, Indonesia becomes the first country in the world to enforce a biodiesel mandate containing 50 per cent palm oil-based biofuel.

Prabowo assessed this achievement as an important milestone in strengthening national energy self-sufficiency. He expressed hope that biodiesel development can continue to be enhanced to higher levels in the future.