Prabowo Says Indonesia Often Labelled a Lazy Nation: Our People Work Hard Everywhere!

President Prabowo Subianto has acknowledged that there are parties who constantly look down on and mock the Indonesian nation. He stated that these parties accuse Indonesians of being lazy, claiming the natives’ hobby is sleeping. “Indeed, there are parties who always look down on the Indonesian nation, who always underestimate the Indonesian nation, who always mock the Indonesian nation behind our backs,” Prabowo said during the virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the Masela Gas Project in the Tanimbar Islands, Maluku, on Thursday. He explained that the nation’s friendliness and hospitality are often mistaken for weakness. “Because of the kindness of the Indonesian nation, our hospitality, we are called weak. We are called a relaxed nation. We are called a lazy nation. That the Indonesian people, the natives, have a hobby of sleeping,” he added. However, Prabowo stressed that the reality is the opposite, with the people working hard every day to earn a decent living. He noted that fishermen risk their lives sailing the seas to find food. The President also pointed out that ancestral wisdom teaches Indonesians to avoid the intense heat of the midday sun, which is often misinterpreted. “Everywhere our people work hard. But if the climate is that hot, the wisdom of our ancestors taught us to avoid the heat during the scorching sun,” he said. He further elaborated that many foreign observers fail to see that Indonesians rise very early, heading to the rice fields, gardens, to collect water and wood, to hunt, or to go to sea while it is still dark, and only return after nightfall.