Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Mass Signing of 26,000 Mortgages under the Housing Financing Liquidity Facility Scheme and the Ceremonial Handover of Subsidized House Keys at Pesona Kahuripan 10 Residential Complex, Cileungsi District, Bogor Regency, West Java Province, Monday, September 29, 2025
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good afternoon,
May peace be upon us all,
Syalom,
Salve,
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of Virtue.
Distinguished Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas Maruar Sirait and his administration, as the host,
[Coordinating] Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Affairs Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono,
Coordinating Ministers, Ministers, Heads of Government Agencies, General Attorney, National Police Chief, Indonesian National Defense Forces Commander, Military Chiefs of Staff in attendance, Vice Ministers,
All members of the Red and White Cabinet in attendance; Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Minister of Home Affairs Police General (Retd.) Tito Karnavian, Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Minister of Manpower Prof. Yassierli, Minister of the Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya, Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi, Presidential Chief of Staff Muhammad Qodari, Cabinet Secretary Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Indra Wijaya, Head of Statistics Indonesia Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Head of Government Communications Agency Angga Raka Prabowo,
Public officials in attendance; Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo, Commissioner of Public Housing Savings Management Body Heru Pudyo Nugroho,
Regional leaders in attendance; Governor of West Java Dedi Mulyadi, how are you? Governor of Jakarta Pramono Anung, regents, mayors in attendance this afternoon,
Distinguished President Director of State-owned Banks–Bank Mandiri, BRI, BNI, BTN, and BSI—in attendance, thank you for your presence,
Distinguished leaders of private banks in attendance, the President Director of BCA,
Leaders of locally owned banks, leaders of private enterprises, and Chair of the Housing Development Association, Real Estate Indonesia (REI), Indonesian Housing Development Association (APERSI), it says here, ‘et cetera’. It is not my fault. My private secretary is a bit lazy. They might protest about it.
Ladies and Gentlemen who attend this event through a video conference from across the country—if I’m not mistaken, there are 100 locations.
Good afternoon, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen all over Indonesia,
Distinguished mortgagors,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As people of faith, let us offer praise and gratitude to the Almighty God, the Great God of Muslims, Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala, for all the blessings and health He has bestowed upon us, allowing us to gather at this event, the Mass Signing of 26,000 Mortgages under the Housing Financing Liquidity Facility Scheme and the Ceremonial Handover of House Keys. Thank you for the invitation. I am very proud, delighted, and thankful to all parties who have worked hard, enabling us to achieve this milestone and carry out the event today.
Mr. Maruar Sirait promised 25,000 houses by 29 September, which is today. I told him I would be there. At the time, I was unsure when I would return from my overseas trip. Thank God, I made it. I arrived in the afternoon of the 27th, and I am here today, keeping my promise to Mr. Maruar. It is true that it is the first time I have attended the Housing Minister’s event. I don’t know why. Maybe the schedule never worked, but alhamdulillah, I am finally here, although he did not keep his word. He promised 25,000, but the result is 26,000 [houses]. It is an anomaly by Indonesian cultural standards. In Indonesia, sky-high promises usually fall short. They fall short. This time, it is the opposite. We promised 25,000, and we delivered more than promised. It indicates that there are signs of change and transformation, particularly mental, in the mindset of officials and leaders.
Thank you, Minister Maruar Sirait. He is indeed famous, perhaps because he is of Batak descent. The Batak people always speak loudly. That is a matter of nature because there are mountains and hills in their hometown. Thus, when talking to the neighbors, they must shout; their voice must be loud. However, he works hard and always wants to give the best to the people. I suppose so. He is the son of a public figure who consistently advocates for the underprivileged. Apparently, he continues his parents’ tradition of always standing by the underprivileged. I am happy. Maybe that is why he is well-suited to our team. Our team, our cabinet, our coalition, they all think about how to effectively give the best to our people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Housing is crucial, and housing construction addresses the essential needs of people, especially those with low incomes. Housing construction also drives economic growth. It is the driver of economic growth. We must pay attention. For this reason, we set a very high target of constructing three million houses. Our target is always high, and we must achieve the target.
I remember the words of our founding father Soekarno, “Set your goals as high as the heavens. Even if you fail to reach them, you will still fall among the stars.” Three million seems highly difficult to achieve, indeed. As leaders, transformative leaders who seek to bring positive change to the people, we must be courageous. Courageous in setting high goals, courageous in facing challenges, courageous in working hard, courageous in overcoming obstacles. Obstacles exist for us to overcome together, Ladies and Gentlemen, and that is our intention. Although we understand and comprehend that we still have weaknesses and major hindrances, we must not be afraid or ashamed of correcting ourselves. I always say that we must be brave enough to improve ourselves and acknowledge our weaknesses as a nation. We must not pretend to be good all the time. We must not be complacent. We must not take pride in our ranks and titles.
I am proud and touched. Today, there are two incredible businesspeople who used to be office boys. Operator, can you show the slide of the picture when they were office boys? The one that shows him sleeping on the floor, can you show that? It is interesting that an office boy… in how many years? Nine years? Eight years? In eight years, he was able to deliver. That is the before (looking at the slide). There are before and after; this is the before. Yes, this is the before. That is enough. Close the picture. Now, they have managed to earn a profit of Rp120 billion without stealing, without graft. They are the sons of Indonesia, of whom we must be proud. They represent our future. A very humble person with no connections and ordinary parents can now earn Rp120 billion annually.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Hey, corrupters. I am talking to corrupters, in case you are offended. Hey, corrupters. If you steal Rp5 billion, you will be imprisoned. Work hard, work creatively, work sincerely, work wholeheartedly. I am a general. I respect you. This is a citizen we are proud of. I am sure that there are others like Angga and Wawan. You can be proud because you worked hard and achieved success in eight years. Incredible. Thank you.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let us acknowledge our weaknesses. Let us admit that we have lost too much of our resources, so most people have not benefited from them. That is precisely my intention and the intention of my partners who help me. Our intention is to save the resources of Indonesia so they can be utilized by the people of Indonesia. That is what we want. That is our desire.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am aware of the facts and figures; our country is extremely wealthy. We have lost an extraordinary amount of wealth, and we continue to suffer this loss. Ladies and Gentlemen, imagine that we can stop this loss. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am determined to stop these losses.
I talked to a political party, and I will say the same to law enforcement personnel. We have a serious corruption issue, and we will fight against corruption. I believe and hope that public officials with power will be deterred and will not be tempted to commit graft. I am sure of it. Our people refuse to have corrupt leaders. Do not think that our people are stupid—they are not, they are sharp. Now everyone has technology and gadgets. Ladies and Gentlemen, isn’t that right?
Therefore, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sure of it. However, what’s worse, Distinguished Experts and Professors, our bigger problem is system failure. The system enables major, extraordinary losses. These are due to the system. Thus, we must be courageous to fix the system. I believe that with efficiency and by securing our wealth, Indonesia will have enough money. We will properly invest our money and carry out downstreaming so that our income doubles. This will enable us to help our people with low incomes, and they will receive the benefits. As a result, every Indonesian can achieve welfare. That is our intention. That is our intention, and I am certain that we will make it come true, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I believe, and I am certain, that in three, four, or five years, we will prove, we will do something that is unexpected by other nations. We will control our own wealth, and we have begun to do so. With the military, with the national police, with every element currently available, we are taking back control over our state assets. We are taking back misused lands. We have taken control of parts of the plantations that broke regulations and laws, and we will continue to take back control. I intend to enforce the 1945 Constitution. I took an oath for that, and I am determined to enforce it. I urged my partners, and they are determined to fight with me. We will never take a single step back. We will fulfill our oath to our nation and our people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are securing our wealth systematically, so I ask you, esteemed professors, to utilize your expertise for the benefit of the people of Indonesia. Study, believe, and analyze. I ask you, the smart ones, especially in mathematics, to examine the data and analyze it. Why have we not been able to analyze it for 25 years? More money comes out of Indonesia. More wealth leaves than stays within Indonesia. We must change it soon, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am sure and certain that the experts here will succeed. I see many professors here. Many people have obtained a PhD. Mr. Purbaya, Mr. Perry, Yasierli have a PhD. Who else? AHY, too. Mr. Tito, the National Police Chief, as well. Extraordinary. If this many doctoral graduates cannot fix the system, it is a huge problem.
Yes, this is a system failure. Why? Maybe Indonesia is an overly kind nation. Many of our experts studied abroad, studied in the West. We may think that overseas or in the West, people everything that is right and good, but we forget that the West is excellent and great at colonizing other nations. They are great at imperialism. If we go there to study, we must be wary. Not everything we are taught must be implemented. Our nation’s weakness is that we often admire foreign nations too easily.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have said it many times already; I did not teach us to be suspicious of other nations, or even to hate them. I only ask that we understand and comprehend that other nations are not concerned about us. That is very naïve. They only think about themselves. Do not think that others will pity us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today is a very important day. Once again, we prove that the leaders work sincerely and wholeheartedly, that they work as a team and cooperate, not in silos, not competing negatively. In a democracy, we must compete, but the competition is during elections. We compete once in five years: we must compete in general elections, compete in legislative elections, compete in regional leaders’ elections. Competition is good, but we must not be hostile or vengeful in competing. We compete in politics. As I’ve said, each one of us wants to win, but it is impossible for everyone to win. In soccer, only one gets to be the champion, right? Enter the semifinal or final stage. Ladies and Gentlemen, we must understand that. Our politics must be mature. Our politics must be Indonesian politics. Our democracy must be an Indonesian democracy. Our democracy must be a polite one, full of kinship values. Being members of different parties should not be an issue, should it? Win or lose, the winner will invite the loser, and the loser will support the winner because we all must work for our people. Our people dislike vengeful leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen. Our people dislike it when public officials fight against each other. That is wrong! That is a mistake! If we used the old paradigm, the paradigm in the ‘50s or ‘40s, the paradigm of that era, there would be a war of ideology. Now, we no longer do that. We have agreed that our ideology is Pancasila. Competing is not a problem.
The Governor of Jakarta is a member of another party. There is no problem. I can cooperate with Mr. Pramono Anung, truly. If he does not cooperate, it will be his loss, and his people will be angry at him, won’t they? Likewise, the Governor of West Java happens to be a member of the Gerindra party. That is a coincidence, but if you turn out to be a bastard, I will investigate you. However, I am sure that you are not. Don’t get me wrong, I am aware that there are Gerindra members who… you know… once they become regents or mayors, they act arbitrarily.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for working hard to enable us to construct such a residential complex. Next year, I believe there will be more. However, aside from housing, we also need to ensure food security. We must ensure that all people of Indonesia have access to food. We must not rely on imports anymore. Alhamdulillah, we no longer import rice. Our current rice production is the highest in history. The current problem is that we need to provide adequate warehouses to contain the rice. Our corn production is also incredible, Ladies and Gentlemen. Protein production—egg production, milk production, beef production, fish production—will also surge. In two or three years, we will be very successful, more successful in the food sector. Food will be secure, and fuel, energy must also be secure. We must no longer depend on imports.
As for the people’s economy, our children must consume adequate food, so the Free Nutritious Meal program continues to run. Alhamdulillah, it has reached almost 30 million beneficiaries as of today. We have provided over 1 billion portions of food every day—not every day, over 1 billion portions of food in total. There were insufficient supply and food poisoning cases—we will do better. Nevertheless, in terms of statistics, compared to what we have achieved, it turned out that the deviation was unintentional. Let us say that the deviation is 0.00017. Our result is quite impressive. We want no one to get food poisoning, and we are working diligently to prevent it. Every kitchen must be equipped with proper washing equipment, food trays, and facilities for ultraviolet, gas, or very hot water. There must also be water filter facilities and test kits that are used before the food is delivered. We will fix it soon. Every kitchen must have trained cooks.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have made so many achievements, and today I am very grateful to every party that has contributed to these successes. I suppose that concludes my statement.
Once again, thank you to the Minister of Housing [and Settlement Areas] and the ministry, all president directors of state-owned banks, as well as the Government and private companies that have worked hard. I also thank the association of private companies that have focused their CSR to help our people with low income. I am optimistic and I believe we can do much better and achieve more in the future.
I thank you all.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
May peace be upon us all,
Shalom,
Om santi santi santi om,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue,
I thank you.
(DH/MMB)