Prabowo: Water Is Not Indonesia's Problem, Sometimes It's in Excess
President Prabowo Subianto stated that water supply is not a problem for Indonesia. According to him, Indonesia actually has an excess water supply.
This was conveyed by Prabowo during a briefing to ministry and agency officials at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4).
“Alhamdulillah, in our country, water is not actually a problem; the problem is sometimes we have too much water,” he said.
Prabowo also mentioned that the water falling in the Bogor region, West Java, in one day equals the water falling in one year in western Australia.
Nevertheless, Prabowo acknowledged that there are still areas in Indonesia that lack water. However, Prabowo said that this issue can be handled.
“Such is the blessing we receive from the Almighty; in certain parts of our country, eastern Indonesia and certain islands still face water difficulties, but we can overcome them,” he stated.
“Because the water is there; it’s just a matter of whether we are able or not to obtain it and preserve it, because sometimes we ourselves cannot preserve our nature,” he added.
The water problems in some parts of Indonesia, he said, cannot be separated from factors such as forest clearing and mountains that lead to drought. However, he emphasised that this can still be resolved.
Prabowo then said that there are countries that possess oil and gas wealth but do not have water supplies. He stated that this shows the importance of water supply for a nation.
“These things are so important, these things are so fundamental, and these things have been underlined by our nation’s founders in the 1945 Constitution, clearly stated that the land and water and all the wealth contained therein must be controlled by the state because it is so determining for the nation’s life,” he remarked.
“So, brothers and sisters, what we understand now, the crisis occurring in the Middle East that is causing energy prices to soar, we must be convinced and we must be grateful that our nation is in a far better condition than other nations,” he continued.