President Prabowo Demands Honesty: Warns Against Fabricated Reports to Please Superiors

President Prabowo Subianto has warned his officials not to produce and submit fabricated reports or manipulated results designed solely to please their superiors. Speaking before state officials and leaders of the Investment Management Board for State Wealth (Danantara), Prabowo issued a stern caution against such falsified reporting.

“Do not play games with me anymore with false reports, pleasing reports, reports using tricks. I am issuing a serious warning about this,” said President Prabowo to his officials during the first anniversary celebration of Danantara at Wisma Danantara in Jakarta on Wednesday (11 March).

Following this warning, President Prabowo announced that he had received reports showing that returns on assets of state-owned enterprises under Danantara’s supervision have increased by more than 300% over the past year.

“I received a report and I am quite pleased. Return on assets over one year in 2025 compared with previous years has already increased by more than 300%. This is quite good, and it proves our premise for establishing Danantara—that good management is impossible unless it is under one control, one hand, one management,” said President Prabowo.

Prabowo then highlighted the proliferation of subsidiary and even sub-subsidiary companies operating under single state-owned enterprise entities. The numbers are significant, as one BUMN manages up to 200 subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries.

This situation has, according to the President, generated numerous irregularities, despite the original establishment of SOEs being motivated by good intentions and sound principles.

“SOEs were founded by our nation’s founders, previously called state enterprises. Over the course of decades, we had no textile industry, so the state established Patal Senayan; we had no paper industry but needed books for children to learn, so the state built a paper factory. We had no medicines when independence was declared, so the state established pharmaceutical companies,” said the President.

“However, gradually these good intentions became subject to irregularities. When the state was newly independent, it established the state enterprise Pertamina. It turned out that the good intentions of our founders ultimately produced subsidiary companies, sub-subsidiaries, and even sub-sub-subsidiaries. I was shocked to learn that Pertamina has 200 subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries,” Prabowo continued.

The President then highlighted the problem of regulations that prevent the state from auditing companies operating under SOEs.

“What is strange is that there are even stranger regulations—if the BUMN (as parent company) can be audited by the state, they say that sub-subsidiaries cannot be audited. Where did this regulation come from?” the President asked, expressing his bewilderment.

For this reason, the President believes that consolidating state-owned companies under a single entity—Danantara—is the correct strategy for managing state wealth more optimally and preventing the loss of national assets.

“Our premise has proven correct: consolidation under one rational management with the best standards in the world,” said President Prabowo. From a management theory perspective, no system exists capable of managing such a large number of entities under single control.

The Investment Management Board for State Wealth (Danantara) has begun reviewing and auditing the condition of state-owned enterprises belonging to the state.