Prabowo: The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest must not widen further

JAKARTA — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest must not widen further. He stressed this as he delivered the Macro-Economic Framework (MEF) and the Main Principles of Fiscal Policy (PPKF) for the 2027 RAPBN in a plenary session of the House of Representatives at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. ‘The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest must not widen any further; indeed, we must strive to narrow it further,’ Prabowo said in his address. He also emphasised that Indonesia’s economic growth should be reflected in tangible improvements in the welfare of its people. The President targeted a reduction in the poverty rate and in open unemployment. ‘Therefore, the poverty rate is targeted to fall to between 6.0 and 6.5 percent from the previous target of 6.5 to 7.5,’ he said. Earlier reports indicated that Prabowo attended the DPR plenary session on Wednesday to present the Macro-Economic Framework (MEF) and the Main Principles of Fiscal Policy (PPKF) for the RAPBN 2027. Prabowo became the first president to personally present the government’s annual macroeconomic and fiscal policy directions to the DPR. The plenary also discussed changes to the second National Legislative Programme (Prolegnas) Priority Bills 2026 and heard the views of factions regarding the RUU Polri, proposed by Commission III of the DPR.