Prabowo Threatens to Sack 'Untouchable' Directors-General Who Defy Ministers

President Prabowo Subianto has reiterated the importance of thorough reforms within the government apparatus, from work environments to institutional governance. He conveyed this during an interview with two senior journalists and four observers at his residence in Hambalang on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

In the discussion, Prabowo assessed that the fundamental issues in the bureaucracy stem not only from the system but also from long-standing culture and habits.

“I see that we must clean up our environment. We must clean up our culture. We must clean up our governance. Things that tend to always deceive. Smuggle. Yes? Under-invoicing, yes? All those practices,” the President stressed.

According to Prabowo, deviant practices can no longer be tolerated and must be consistently addressed in the administration. In the discussion, Prabowo emphasised the importance of internal reforms within each institution.

“That’s why I ask all my colleagues in all agencies: You clean yourself, or you will be cleaned, and I see that some of my ministers are already starting to get it right. There are people who seem soft, but there are naughty directors-general who are immediately sacked,” President Prabowo explained.

This assertion was reinforced with examples at the cabinet level. President Prabowo alluded to the steps taken by the Minister of Public Works as part of internal reform efforts.

“If you look at my Public Works Minister now, Mr Dody, he’s a good person, but if someone wants to play around, he acts decisively, he sacked two directors-general,” President Prabowo said.

This refers to the actions taken by Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo in conducting a clean-up. One of them was the enforcement against officials at the director-general level within the Ministry of Public Works, where two officials were known to have resigned after undergoing an evaluation and examination process related to serious disciplinary violations, as part of efforts to maintain accountability within the ministry.

Nevertheless, Prabowo admitted that the reform process is not proceeding easily. He revealed serious challenges, particularly resistance from within the institutions themselves.

“We have found a deep state; we have found directors-general who dare to defy ministers. In the end, we have sacked many directors-general. There are directors-general who feel untouchable. There are institutions that feel they cannot be audited. This is no light task,” Prabowo stated.