Prabowo Sees Indonesia’s Economic Data: It Felt Like I Was Struck in the Pit of My Stomach

Prabowo Subianto says he was shocked and felt hurt when he saw Indonesia’s economic data in the early days of his presidency. He noted that economic growth over the past seven years has been strong, at around 5% per year. If sustained for seven years, this would imply a 35% increase in wealth. “It should be that we are 35% wealthier, but what happened — I urge us to be honest with ourselves and our people. Perhaps this is painful for us; I received this data a few weeks after becoming President, as if I had been struck in the pit of my stomach,” he said in a speech at the Plenary Session, Wednesday (20 May 2026). The 35% growth has not been accompanied by improvements in people’s welfare. The number of people living in poverty rose from 46.1% to 49.5%, or an increase of 3 percentage points. “How can growth be 35% but the middle class falls and poverty rises,” he said. Prabowo assessed that this could happen because there is an economic system that is not right. “Brothers and sisters, the answer must be scientific; the answer must be mathematical, and in my view the answer is that, most likely, I am convinced that the economic system we are running is on a trajectory that is not right,” he said.