West Java '98 Activists Affirm Support for President Prabowo's Populist Programmes

Dozens of activists from the 1998 movement, Lingkar 98 West Java, together with the 98 Resolution Network, held a consolidation meeting and press conference in Bandung on Monday, 6 July 2026. The exponents of the 1998 movement called for introspection on 28 years of reform and its contribution to political democracy. “When natural resources are controlled by a handful of groups, which we call ‘serakahnomic’ during the reform era, it is tantamount to hijacking political democracy and the livelihood of the people,” said 98 Resolution Network spokesperson Agus Teddy Sumantri. As supporters of the Prabowo-Gibran administration, Lingkar 98 West Java emphasised that Indonesia’s democratic system must be based on socio-democracy, not Western liberal democracy which only guarantees freedom at the ballot box. “Western-style democracy ignores the people’s access to the country’s wealth. Constitutionally, under Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, the state’s natural resources are regulated by the state to improve the people’s welfare,” Teddy stated. Activist Agustin Lumban Gaol outlined eight points of view and stance from the group regarding the nation’s problems. Firstly, on eradicating corruption from upstream, Lingkar 98 West Java and the 98 Resolution Network fully support President Prabowo’s mandate to seize corruptors’ assets for public subsidy. This is evidenced by the seizure of Rp 13.25 trillion related to CPO (Wilmar Group), Rp 11.42 trillion in administrative fines for forest area violations, and Rp 920 billion plus 51 kg of gold from case broker Zarof Ricar. The group also highlighted the crackdown on oil and gas mafia Riza Chalid. They urged law enforcers to impose severe punishments, including life imprisonment, on corruptors who betray the people, the state, and the President’s trust. Coordinator Hadi Gunawan added that the current corruption eradication approach is more progressive as it targets corruption in state revenue sources, natural resource management, and concession permit abuse, not just state budget spending.