Prabowo Stunned! Rural Women Hit with 24% Loan Interest

President Prabowo Subianto has declared that the national economic system has deviated from the foundational design conceived by the nation’s founders, as embodied in the Youth Pledge, Pancasila, and Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. He expressed astonishment upon discovering that ordinary citizens face extremely high interest rates when applying for loans.

Prabowo stated that Indonesia’s economic system tends to inflate the power of large conglomerates. He observed that low-income women, known locally as ‘emak-emak’, are subjected to interest rates as high as 24% under the Ultra Micro Credit programme run by PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), known as Mekaar.

“I was shocked. I am indeed not a financial expert, but I was shocked. During my campaign, I dealt with mothers who participated in the Mekaar super micro credit programme. On average, they pay 24% interest,” Prabowo said during his speech. He noted that this rate is far higher than the 9% to 10% interest charged to major entrepreneurs.

“How is it that you, the big entrepreneurs, borrow money from state-owned banks and receive 9% or 10% interest, but poor people pay higher interest than big entrepreneurs?” he asked. Prabowo affirmed his commitment to straightening out such economic absurdities. He called on all parties, including business leaders, to return to the constitution, particularly Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, so that Indonesia can rapidly rise as a nation.

“So, I am trying to correct these anomalies. I am very confident if we implement Article 33, naturally with wisdom and prudence, but we must implement it, I am sure Indonesia will rise quickly. We will rise,” he asserted.