Prabowo: We Must Ask NGOs, Who Pays Your Salary?

President Prabowo Subianto has launched a scathing attack on non-governmental organisations (NGOs), questioning their funding sources and likening them to modern-day ‘Londo Ireng’—a historical term for native Indonesians who collaborated with Dutch colonial rulers. Speaking at the 28th anniversary celebration of the National Awakening Party (PKB) in Jakarta on Thursday (23/7), Prabowo asserted that such collaborators still exist today, merely wearing different uniforms. ‘These Londo Ireng are still around. They just wear different clothes now, right? Journalists, observers, NGOs. We have to ask the NGOs, who pays your salary? Who pays your electricity bill? Who pays for your mobile phone?’ he said. Prabowo argued that since the colonial era, there have always been unpatriotic Indonesians who serve other nations. He also took aim at media outlets he accused of downplaying his government’s accomplishments, specifically citing a massive school renovation programme. He claimed his administration has refurbished over 67,000 school buildings so far and has instructed that the number be increased to 100,000 next year. ‘For dozens of years they were untouched. Yet, there are media outlets that… even though we have repaired 67,000 schools, they look for one that hasn’t been fixed, take a big photo of it, and put it on the front page,’ he lamented. Prabowo declined to name the specific media organisation, suggesting the public already knows which outlet he is referring to. ‘He thinks we don’t understand. I won’t name which media. If I name them, well… I will at the right time. You already know. We are a democracy. We are not anti-criticism. But we are not children,’ he stated. Additionally, Prabowo addressed what he described as a major campaign to destabilise the country, with predictions that Indonesia would collapse. He noted these forecasts have consistently failed, and the nation has instead grown stronger.