Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Simultaneous Great Corn Harvest of the 2nd Quarter of 2025 and Send-off Ceremony of Corn Export, in Bengkayang Regency, West Kalimantan Province, Thursday, June 05, 2025

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Assalamu’alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Good morning,
May peace be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om Swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue,

Adil Ka’ Talino Bacuramin Ka’ Saruga Basengat Ka’ Jubata.

It is a Dayak motto that means “to be fair and just to fellow humans, live by upholding noble values, and always rely on God”. I think these are noble and commendable values.

Distinguished Chief of the Indonesian National Police, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, whom I deeply respect, along with all Regional Police Chiefs and all personnel of the Indonesian National Police across Indonesia who may be following this event remotely via online media;

Distinguished Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman, Minister of Trade Budi Santoso, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) General Agus Subiyanto, Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Indonesia Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry Teddy Indra Wijaya, President Director of Agrinas Pangan [a state-owned agriculture company] Joao Mota; President Director of Bulog [the State Logistics Agency] Novi Helmy, Governor of West Kalimantan Ria Norsan, along with all members of the West Kalimantan Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) in attendance;
Also joining us via video conference are religious leaders, youth leaders, and representatives of various farmers’ associations;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, dear students who are present here today;

All distinguished guests and esteemed members of the media, whom I deeply respect.

Let us praise and offer our gratitude to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, the Almighty God, Sovereign of all creation, for granting us blessings and good health, allowing us to be present at this auspicious occasion in Bengkayang regency, in good health and well-being.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to extend my highest appreciation to the Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Polri), all ranks within the institution, and of course, to other officials as well. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that the host of today’s event is the Chief of Polri and his ranks. I am truly honored and delighted to be here today, because not long ago, we witnessed evidence of our success in food production, namely in rice yield. We have seen early signs of progress. This does not mean we should be complacent, but we must objectively recognize and understand the achievements that we have made, while also being aware of the path that still lies ahead. This is objectivity. If we continue working without recognizing our achievements, we may end up wasting our energy aimlessly. But if we work and acknowledge that, “Yes, we have reached this point, and we still have further to go,” we can move forward with greater confidence, grounded in the results already achieved.

Recently, we have witnessed our success in agriculture sector, particularly in rice production, at a time when many countries are struggling with rice shortages. This is not about showing off; we must not turn into an arrogant nation. In my view, people who are arrogant often find themselves less fortunate in the end.

Ladies and Gentlemen, reflecting on proverb of our nation, namely the wisdom of the rice stalk, the more grains it bears, the lower it bows. The stronger we are, the humbler we should become. And humility does not mean weakness. The more we believe we are right, the more respectful we should be. The greater the success and blessings we receive from the Almighty, the deeper our gratitude should be. When we face hardship, we fight even harder. We don’t give up, we don’t think negatively, we don’t surrender easily, and we don’t whine or cry over small things. We don’t speak ill of our own country or of our fellow citizens. This is the key to a nation’s success and advancement. We have seen that success did not fall from the sky. It was earned through sweat, thought, effort, courage, initiative, and most importantly, with a heart free from selfish motives.

I am glad that Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) and all ranks within the institution understood what I am saying because the Indonesian police belong to the people. The same goes with the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI). The TNI is the people’s soldiers; they are not mercenaries. Some people often say that the military must be professional. Professionalism means being capable in carrying out one’s duties. But if being ‘professional’ means only working when paid, then that is neither the TNI nor a fighter soldier. The Police must also be professional and I thanked the Polri Chief and all ranks within the institution for taking initiative, playing important role, and taking part in our effort to achieve food security and food self-sufficiency because food self-sufficiency is the key to national security. Food self-sufficiency is the key to independence. No nation is truly independent if it cannot produce its own food. I repeat, no nation is truly independent if it cannot produce its own food.

That is why, throughout my political career and dedication, I have always focused on this issue. I will keep striving for Indonesia’s food self-sufficiency. Indonesia must not only achieve food self-sufficiency at the national level; rather, every province and every island must be self-sufficient in food. This is the key to our independence because we are a unique country, an archipelagic country, unlike many others. In fact, we may be the largest archipelagic country in the world.

Thus, we must be grateful for the awareness of the Polri Chief, TNI Commander, and a number of ministers. I am grateful, I feel so lucky that after being elected as the President, I am assisted by all these patriotic people. I indeed give directions, guidelines, strategies, and objectives, and give instructions to implement the strategy and the direction. If we only have directions and strategies without anyone executing them, they remain just big dreams. We must realize our big dreams, and today, I am thankful that we are on the right path; we have seen signs of success. We are moving toward Indonesia’s food sovereignty. We are moving toward food self-sufficiency. Soon, we will be confident to face the world and face our children. We will be able to proudly say that Indonesia now stands on its own feet. We are not afraid of any nations, we are not afraid. We look forward to facing the future with joy.

Distinguished guests,

What we have achieved must be strengthened today. If we were still importing corn last year, if I’m not mistaken, about 500 thousand tons, we won’t be importing it anymore next year, right, Mr. Minister? Thank you. I’ve been given assurance by two great Indonesian figures, the Minister of Agriculture and the Polri Chief, that in 2026, Indonesia will no longer import corn.

My fellow citizens,

I am also grateful that, based on my observation, the Ministry of Agriculture, along with the cooperatives supported by the Polri, has done research and trials on corn-based derivative products, for instance chips and any other products. Maybe they can also process corn into a rice substitute, such as ground corn. I think that’s possible, and it could even be more nutritious than other types of rice. Ground corn, okay? What do you think, people of Bengkayang? Is that right?

My fellow citizens,

I am really thankful today. I have a strong belief and you affirm my belief today. I believe Indonesia will not only achieve food self-sufficiency but also become a global food estate. We will help less fortunate countries, not because we want to show off our power, but we want other nations to see us with respect. We want to prove that Indonesia is a strong nation, a nation with a good heart, not a nation that causes trouble for others, but a nation that provides solutions for others.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is indeed a big goal but we have seen where it’ll lead to. Based on the production we’ve seen so far, one hectare of corn field usually yields only 4 tons. Now, you prove that it can produce 6, 7, even 8 tons. Earlier, I received a report that in the first quarter [of 2025], our [corn] production has increased by 48 percent, almost 50 percent, from around 6 million tons in the first quarter of last year, to almost 9 million tons recently. This indicates that we can probably achieve corn self-sufficiency sooner, right, Mr. Minister? What matters the most is that we are making all our efforts with good faith.

My fellow citizens,

All of our efforts are aimed at achieving self-reliance as a nation, with the main objective aimed at increasing farmers’ income. Our farmers as the food producers should live a good life. Thus, we must strive to make the cost as efficient as possible for farmers. We will find out where we can make intervention to help the cause, perhaps with the use of equipment, machinery, technology, seed, fertilizer, and the bayou fertilizer, which I found to be extraordinary.

For that reason, let us once again thank the Police Chief and all ranks. Thank you to the Governor, the Regent, the Ministry of Agriculture and other institutions involved. I also see that the Air Force has played a role here. The TNI has been involved from the beginning, since several years ago, and we continue to involve them.

My fellow citizens,

One of Indonesia’s strengths lies in the synergy between the TNI and the Polri, academicians, technocrats, universities, regional governments, businesspeople, and religious leaders. This is something unique, and it’s something that is often disrupted. Other nations and foreign powers sometimes don’t like to see this kind of synergy, because with such a synergy, we will rise into a very prosperous country.

My fellow citizens,

There is no denying it. Other people may say whatever they want but as long as we have sincere intentions, pure hearts, and all our leaders devote themselves to the people wholeheartedly, nothing can stop Indonesia from rising. Every time we let our guard down, every time we start to rise, we get sabotaged. Now, we are more vigilant, and we don’t want to be split up. Guard against any attempt to pit us against each other, to pit different ethnic groups against each other, and to pit adherents of different religions against each other. For those who try to split us up, let them know that our people are no longer naive.

This synergy is crucial and Alhamdulillah, praise be to God, I am deeply moved. Today proves the results of true leadership, a love for the nation, a calling to serve, a will to do good deeds, and we can see the results. We share the same goals with every state official, every leader, namely the safety of the nation and the welfare of our people. That is our ultimate goal. The safety of the nation, the well-being of the people, and prosperity of the people are the goal we should never forget.

Thus, thank you because today I am able to witness proof of progress towards our goals that we are realizing. The success we are seeing in all sectors, I believe, is the result of our sincere synergy and intentions. That is it, my fellow citizens.

I also received a report that today we will send off our first export to a neighboring country. That is great. I think this should be carried on. With the plan to establish 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia, we will further strengthen and create synergy with the existing cooperatives. They will support one another and open up new networks, new production chains, and new supply chains that help achieving our goals namely keeping food prices affordable for the people, increasing farmers’ and fishermen’s exchange rates, ensuring that all of our people eat well, eat nutritious food. Thus, God willing, our dream of achieving a just and prosperous society, or gemah ripah loh jinawi in Javanese, will come true.

That concludes my remarks. Thank you to all of you. Thank you for all who have worked hard.

Wassalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
May peace be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om santi santi santi om,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue,
Rahayu rahayu.
I thank you.

By saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, on this afternoon, Thursday, June 5th, 2025, I, Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia, hereby inaugurate the corn warehouse and dryer of PT Pangan Merah Putih [West Kalimantan’s region-owned food enterprise] in West Kalimantan province, as well as commence the groundbreaking for 18 Police Warehouses in 12 Regional Police (Polda) Headquarters across Indonesia.
(RAS/TM)