Prabowo's Tales of Riding the Pindad-Made Maung: Leaks and Rattles

President Prabowo Subianto has recounted his experience riding the Maung national vehicle produced by PT Pindad. Prabowo disclosed that he once experienced the vehicle leaking and having a very harsh, rattling ride whilst climbing a mountain. “A few days ago, I overheard a conversation among my staff. ‘Hey, how much does this car cost? How much does that car cost?’ I thought, well, I cannot afford to ask about that anymore. Like it or not, because I am president, I must set an example and use a car made by Indonesia’s own children,” Prabowo stated whilst opening the HIPMI XVIII National Conference in Lampung, on Wednesday (10/6/2026). “So, I understand this car was built in one to two years; something new might not be as good as a BMW or a Mercedes, right? If Mr Ara (Maruarar Sirait) uses a Mercedes, I can no longer do that; I use the Maung,” he added. Prabowo eventually recounted his experience with the Maung. He confessed that the vehicle he was riding in leaked when it rained. As a result, the vehicle was sent back to Pindad for repairs. “Well, one time, I like to sleep in the car. It was raining heavily outside, and I was sleeping when suddenly, ‘drip, drip, drip’ (water leaking), I woke up. It turned out it was leaking. Since it was new, I sent it back, you know, saying, ‘This is made by Pindad, hey Pindad, please reduce the leaks,’” he mentioned. Not only did it leak, Prabowo also felt a rather harsh rattling in the Maung when driving on rocky roads in the mountains. Although it still has many shortcomings, Prabowo continues to use the vehicle. “After that, using the car to go up the mountain, it rattled and clanked. But the rattling is fine; for the sake of nationalism, I continue to use this car,” Prabowo asserted.