Prabowo Warns Leaders Who Incite Riots Will Face Karma

President Prabowo Subianto has claimed there are leaders who provoke the public to riot. Although he did not explicitly name the leader in question, Prabowo stated that such a leader is disloyal to the nation. “A leader who advocates burning things in this republic is a traitorous leader, ladies and gentlemen. I believe the law of karma will befall all of them,” Prabowo said during his speech at the peak event of the National Cooperative Day commemoration in the Senayan area, Jakarta, on Sunday, 12 July 2026.

The Chairman of the Gerindra Party remarked that in every political contest, there will be winners and losers. For Prabowo, differences in political choices should not be made into a problem. “Every few years we compete properly. There is no problem. Whoever wins, go ahead. If you lose, don’t go burning things, what kind of nation is that?”

The former Minister of Defence then recounted his experience of losing multiple times in presidential elections. Despite losing four times, he claimed he never instructed his supporters to carry out anarchist actions. Prabowo stated that he respected the victories of his political opponents. “I ran in five elections. I lost four times. I never once told my men to burn things. I did not even hold a demonstration. I attended the inauguration of my rival, I came, I paid my respects, I offered my congratulations,” said Prabowo.

According to Prabowo, political competition is a normal occurrence, much like a sporting contest. He stressed that all parties must respect whatever the outcome is. “Competition is good. A match is good, right? In football, there is a match. There are two sides, one must win, if one loses, you wouldn’t want to beat up the referee, would you? Competition is normal,” Prabowo stated.