Prabowo Receives Numerous Reports of Discrepancies in Indonesian Coal Export Volumes

President Prabowo Subianto has disclosed reports regarding alleged irregularities in the recording of Indonesia’s coal exports. One of the methods identified is the discrepancy between the amount of coal reported by Indonesia and the amount recorded in the destination countries.

Prabowo provided an example where Indonesia’s export reports recorded a shipment of 50,000 tonnes of coal, yet when compared with the records in the destination country, the amount received was recorded as 100,000 tonnes. “So, many times we report that we are sending 50,000 tonnes of coal, but in that country, they say, ‘Oh no, we received 100,000.’ The records exist; all the data is right here,” Prabowo stated during a dialogue with senior journalists and experts at Padepokan Garuda Yaksa, Hambalang, Bogor, on Sunday (6/9/2026).

According to Prabowo, these recording discrepancies are among the issues currently being scrutinised by the government. He noted that such fraudulent practices are more difficult to execute when Indonesia’s export data is cross-referenced with the data recorded by the receiving nations.

“So, domestically, there can be ‘pat-guli-pat’ [collusion]. Falsifying shipments, right? Perhaps Customs is bribed, this institution is bribed, and so on. It is possible. But in the receiving country, we cannot [control that],” he said.

“This is not a matter of bravery; I must act. I have no choice. I have gathered all my assistants and told them: ‘Hey, if we allow this, our country will never be in a healthy condition, will never be prosperous. The poor will only get poorer,’ he added.

Prabowo also linked this issue to the national economic condition. He highlighted Indonesia’s economic growth, which he noted has been around 5% annually over the last seven years.

“And we know, for the last 7 years, our growth has been 5% each year. That means we have grown by 35%. Yet, after growing by 35%, why are the poor increasing? The population of the poor and those at risk of poverty—from 2017 to 2024, that is 7 years—why has it risen? And why is the middle class shrinking? It means there is something wrong with our system,” he remarked.