Prabowo Says Indonesia’s Status Was Once Placed Below a Dog

President Prabowo Subianto said that the founders of the nation felt that Indonesia had been treated with contempt by colonial rulers, even its dignity placed below that of a dog. He said this at the 19th plenary session of the Indonesian House of Representatives on Wednesday, 20 May. Prabowo began by explaining that Indonesia’s economic management had actually been formulated by the founders. He said the founders were not naive. ‘They felt colonisation, they felt slavery, they felt humiliation, their dignity stripped, their self-respect robbed, their nation’s dignity stripped,’ said Prabowo. He said the founders also witnessed and felt that all dignity and self-confidence in the nation, in its culture, and in its history had been removed. ‘They sensed what imperialism means. They felt Indonesia’s people were placed in a position below a dog,’ he added. Prabowo said the founders observed and felt that hundreds of years of Nusantara wealth were taken by colonisers to enrich them. ‘Let us not be too impressed by a nation that grows rich by plundering the wealth of other nations,’ said Prabowo. The speech in the DPR plenary outlined the ‘Kerangka Ekonomi Makro dan Pokok-Pokok Kebijakan Fiskal (KEMPPKF) RAPBN Tahun Anggaran 2027’ (Macro Economic Framework and Key Fiscal Policy Issues for the 2027 Budget). In his address, the president set a growth target of 5.8% to 6.5% for 2027. Under the base assumptions of KEM PPKF RAPBN 2027, the government also targets inflation of around 1.5% to 3.5%. On the exchange rate, the rupiah is targeted to be between Rp16,800 and Rp17,500 per US dollar. ‘Our fiscal and monetary strategy must be able to keep our currency stable against world currencies,’ Prabowo said. Regarding the state budget, next year the government targets government revenue at around 11.82% to 12.40% of GDP, government spending at 13.62% to 14.80% of GDP, and a deficit kept at 1.8% to 2.4% of GDP. ‘We will keep striving to reduce the deficit,’ Prabowo said. This is the first time the president has presented the KEMPPKF RAPBN in front of the DPR. This new practice comes amid volatility in the rupiah exchange rate against the dollar and a slide in the IHSG.