Prabowo Ridicules "Dark Indonesia": Eyes and Heart Are Cloudy
President Prabowo Subianto has again alluded to the “Dark Indonesia” action. This time, Prabowo accused the eyes and hearts of the group promoting narratives of dissatisfaction with Indonesia’s conditions as “not very good”.
The Head of State expressed this during the inauguration of the commercial electric vehicle assembly plant owned by PT VKTR Sakti Industries in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday, 9 April 2026. “Those who say [Indonesia] is not bright, who say Indonesia is dark, perhaps their eyes are not good, right? Their eyes and hearts. What can we do, if someone’s heart is not sincere, their eyes are cloudy, well, Indonesia is dark,” Prabowo said, quoted from the broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel, Thursday, 9 April 2026.
The General Chairman of the Gerindra Party stated that Indonesia’s future is bright. In fact, he said, in the future Indonesia will become even stronger and more capable. “Our growth is good. Next year we will create a surprise for the whole world. Indonesia is rising. This giant is waking up. We will no longer be the sleeping giant, we are rising,” he said.
This is not the first or second time President Prabowo has ridiculed the “Dark Indonesia” narrative. Yesterday, Prabowo said he does not believe that Indonesia’s current condition is dark.
He expressed this during a briefing to the ranks of the Red White Cabinet and institutional leaders at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, on Wednesday, 8 April 2026. To his cabinet aides, Prabowo conveyed his optimism regarding Indonesia’s future amid volatile global situations. “There is no dark Indonesia, Indonesia is bright when many countries are struggling,” Prabowo said on Wednesday.
If traced further, the “Dark Indonesia” campaign first emerged in early 2025. This narrative was promoted as a slogan to criticise the government of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
In February 2025, “Dark Indonesia” was used as the theme for demonstrations demanding accountability for several government policies under Prabowo that were deemed not to favour the people. The #DarkIndonesia hashtag also became widespread on social media.
Prabowo has been recorded several times alluding to “Dark Indonesia”. One of them was at the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Congress in Solo, Central Java, on 20 July 2025. On that day, Prabowo accused the masses for the “Dark Indonesia” demonstration to “Just Run Away First” as being paid by corruptors.
The corruptors, Prabowo said, want Indonesia to remain tumultuous. “They want Indonesia to always be in chaos, Indonesia to always be poor. Yes, those corruptors who fund those demos, Dark Indonesia,” Prabowo said in his speech at the PSI Congress in Central Java, Sunday, 20 July 2025.