Prabowo Speaks on Religious and Humanitarian Economics
President Prabowo Subianto seeks to transform the nation’s economy into a system fully grounded in Pancasila values. For Prabowo, this Pancasila economy is built on four principles: religious, humanitarian, national unity, and social justice.
During his speech at the 2026 Pancasila Birth Day ceremony, the Head of State stressed that natural resources are not commodities to be freely traded. “Natural resources are a divine trust that must be managed responsibly for the greatest prosperity of the people,” Prabowo said while presiding over the ceremony at Gedung Pancasila in Jakarta on 1 June 2026.
The Gerindra Party chairman added that economic development must not focus solely on statistical figures. According to Prabowo, national development success should be measured by improved quality of life, especially for the most vulnerable groups—such as well-nourished children, farmers receiving fair-priced fertiliser, fishermen with equitable market access, and workers with proper protection.
Prabowo explained that a Pancasila-based economy must prioritise national and public interests. Indonesia’s economy, he stated, must not benefit only a select few. “For too long, the prices of our natural resources have been set by external parties and foreign nations,” he said. “For too long, profits from natural resources have flowed overseas instead of remaining in the nation.”
The former Defence Minister also stressed that a Pancasila-based economy entails an egalitarian and people-centric system. He referenced Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, which mandates that Indonesia’s economy be structured as a collective effort based on kinship principles. Therefore, the state must strengthen cooperatives and small-to-medium enterprises, while making villages new economic growth centres. “The people must be the main drivers of development, not merely its subjects or tools,” Prabowo said.
He further affirmed that Indonesia’s economy must uphold social justice. For him, socially just economics is at the heart of the nation’s struggle. “Economic growth must be accompanied by equitable progress and felt by all Indonesians,” he added.