Prabowo Recounts Four Election Defeats: 'Losing Is Not Pleasant'

President Prabowo Subianto recounted his political journey while attending the 17th National Farmers and Fishermen’s Week (PENAS) in Gorontalo Regency on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. He reflected on his persistence in politics despite suffering multiple electoral defeats. “I want to say here that I kept fighting and stayed in politics for decades. I participated in general elections. I ran five times. I lost four times,” Prabowo said in his speech. “Losing is not pleasant, brothers and sisters. Four times I lost, and the last time I won.” He explained that his perseverance was driven by his view that Indonesia’s economic development was on the wrong path. “Why did I keep going? Because at that time I saw that the direction of our economic development was misguided,” he stated. Prabowo also shared an experience from his time as Chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI). He recounted visiting Aburizal Bakrie, who was then the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs from 2004 to 2005, to urge the government not to import rice. He argued that importing rice would devastate local prices, especially as farmers were about to have a major harvest. “I went to see him and appealed not to import rice. Especially importing rice when farmers are about to have a bountiful harvest. The price for farmers would collapse. Farmers cannot make a profit or recover their capital,” Prabowo explained. He also expressed concern over experts who, in his view, did not defend the interests of Indonesian farmers.