The Plunge in Public Satisfaction with Prabowo's Performance

Constitutional law expert from Mulawarman University, Herdiansyah Hamzah, stated that the significant decline in President Prabowo Subianto’s performance satisfaction rating is directly proportional to conditions on the ground. He noted that civil society frequently criticises the president’s ambition to fulfil his campaign promises through the implementation of the free nutritious meal project. According to him, the programme has failed in its governance. One indication is the alleged corruption case involving former leaders of the National Nutrition Agency, the institution responsible for the project. The presidium member of the Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom said the governance failure of the free nutritious meal project has not only resulted in systemic corruption. He stated that this ambitious project has also harmed the future of national education. “Imagine, the government prefers to pour large sums of money into this project rather than accommodating the needs and welfare of teachers,” he said when contacted on Monday, 27 July 2026. The decline in satisfaction with President Prabowo Subianto’s performance was released in survey results by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting. The institution revealed the president’s approval rating in July 2026 stood at 51.1 percent, a drop of 30.1 percentage points compared to nine months prior. Herdiansyah assessed that the decline in satisfaction has not been accompanied by efforts to improve and evaluate government policies. The proof, he said, is that programmes deemed problematic, such as the free nutritious meal scheme and the ‘red and white’ village cooperatives, continue despite increasingly harsh public criticism. “I suspect these protests will spread further because instead of listening to public protest, Prabowo seems to be challenging them,” he said. He highlighted the president’s recent statement accusing journalists and NGOs of being ‘londo ireng’ (black foreigners). According to him, this labelling of the public demonstrates Prabowo’s anti-criticism character. “I think this is what will cause the protests to spread even wider, even leading towards civilian disobedience,” said Herdiansyah.