Prabowo Taunts Bureaucrats Who Exploit Entrepreneurs: Many Golkar Figures Smiling, He Says

Jakarta, – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has lampooned bureaucrats who he says routinely squeeze and obstruct entrepreneurs. He said he was ashamed of Indonesia’s licensing process, which can take up to two years, whereas in Malaysia it takes just two weeks. He urged ministers to tighten up their own bureaucracies. ‘We should not have too many initiatives; already a presidential order, a ministerial order, below that someone drafts more rules, technical regulations, recommendations, justifications—these things. I remind all ministers to bring your bureaucracies under control,’ Prabowo told a plenary session at the DPR building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (20 May 2026). He disclosed that the hallmark of bureaucrats is to request signatures in the late afternoon, when officials are tired. ‘Be wary of bureaucrats, because they have long experience; you come in and out every five years, right? If you’re not reshuffled. Is that right? They’re long-standing; their hallmark is to ask for signatures at 17:30 in the evening, when you’re exhausted,’ he said. Prabowo then looked at many MPs and Golkar officials smiling. ‘Many of them from Golkar are smiling, which means they have a lot of experience. Golkar has a lot of experience in this, because I was in Golkar too. There are many former Golkar chairmen here — Bahlil, Airlangga Hartarto — who, I’m told, have the most experience in getting signatures in the evening. We’re tired—watch this… Be careful of this,’ he added.