Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Plenary Cabinet Meeting to Commemorate the First Anniversary of the Red and White Cabinet at the State Palace, Central Jakarta, October 20, 2025
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good afternoon,
May prosperity be upon us all.
Shalom,
Salve,
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of Virtue.
Distinguished Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Gibran Rakabuming Raka;
Distinguished Coordinating Ministers;
Ministers, Heads of Agencies, Chairperson of the National Economic Council, Special Advisors to the President, the Attorney General, the Head of the National Intelligency Agency (BIN), Chief of Indonesian National Police, Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, Deputy Ministers, and Deputy Heads of Agencies—all members of the Red and White Cabinet—whom I hold in high regard and am proud of.
Good afternoon,
As God-fearing individuals, let us never cease to give thanks to the presence of the Almighty God for Muslims, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, who governs all the worlds.
We pray to Him alone and earnestly seek His guidance. We express profound gratitude for all blessings, especially the health and well-being granted to our nation, to each of us, and to our families.
We are grateful to convene this Plenary Cabinet Meeting on October 20, 2025, marking exactly one year since my inauguration and oath of office before the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) as President of the Republic of Indonesia. It is indeed appropriate for us to gather today to reflect upon and review our accomplishment over the past year.
I was inaugurated on the 20th [October]; on the following day, the 21st, I officiated your inauguration. If my memory serves me correctly, the deputies were inaugurated on the 22nd. Immediately thereafter, we departed for Magelang for a retreat. I am considering that, after a year, it may be appropriate to hold another retreat. It appears that some of you may feel already nostalgic for the experience of living in tents.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As a responsible citizen, I wish to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to everyone who has dedicated themselves to providing exemplary service for our nation and the people under the Government I lead, through unwavering diligence and discipline. I extend my thanks to all of you – regardless of your diverse backgrounds, regions, ethnicities, religions, and political affiliations. Some of you come from parties that supported our coalition during the General Election and Presidential Election, while others are not. But then I understood and responded, not just realizing but actually calling out. No, this is genuinely me. So it’s fine if I am a bit less serious, right? I can be serious yet relaxed, serious but relaxed.
Esteemed Colleagues,
The essence is that I am expressing my gratitude to all of you. If we were likened to a football team, I would serve as both manager and coach, and you would be the players. Ladies and gentlemen, in this initial phase, some of us play the role of strikers, and others as defenders, while substitutes are still preparing to realize their full potential. I acknowledge and appreciate the initiative and independent actions many of you have undertaken. However, I intend to assign certain members as primary strikers to secure optimal results expeditiously.
Honorable Members,
We should indeed be grateful for the dedication and hard work that has characterized our efforts. For this reason, I also wish to extend my sincere apologies, especially to your families, for frequently occupying your personal time and days off. It appears that there are no holidays in our cabinet. Saturdays, Sundays, nights, and sometimes I call very late at night or very early in the morning, and you always answer right away. I don’t know, maybe the phone is right next to your pillow. Because if I remember something, I have to contact you right away, or I’m afraid I’ll forget that.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am confident we can stand before our own people with honor and conviction. Through our dedicate efforts, we have delivered tangible results that the public can genuinely experience. For example, we have recorded significant progress in the economic sector. This is despite global uncertainty and the outbreak of wars everywhere. Last night’s count showed 110 wars and 110 armed conflicts worldwide. In these conditions, where geopolitics are so unstable, the geoeconomic situation is also uncertain, with strategic commodity chains inevitably impacted by the unpredictable global geopolitical landscape. Energy and food are particularly vulnerable to this geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty.
Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), we have managed to maintain our economic growth at a high level compared to that of the rest of the world. We have managed to achieve five percent growth, and among the G20 countries, we are one of the highest achievers under current conditions. We have been able to curb inflation around two percent, one of the lowest in the G20, thanks to our collective hard work. We have techniques to monitor and control inflation, which I believe are rarely taught in economic faculties around the world. And I must say, one of the techniques for controlling inflation was pioneered by my predecessor, President Joko Widodo. We must acknowledge that perhaps his experience as a mayor enabled him to precisely find ways to monitor and control inflation. This should not be underestimated. Many countries with strong growth still experience extremely high inflation. Their industries may be good, but their inflation is very high. Argentina, which was very optimistic one or two years ago, is now in a poor condition. Many countries still find it difficult to control inflation.
We keep our state budget deficit below the 3 percent limit of GDP, also one of the lowest among G20 countries, perhaps the lowest in the world. The composite stock index has reached 8,000, the highest in our republic’s history, this was also beyond expectation. I think this is also the result of our economic ministers’ hard work. We are often warned that the stock index reflects investor and market confidence in us. However, we’ve managed to reach the highest level. That’s why I always remind people that we should not be too worried by stock prices. What is important is that our economic fundamentals must be strong, and the most basic economic fundamentals of every nation are food, energy, and water. As long as we are aware of this, focus on this, and ensure our policies guarantee that we are capable of producing and distributing food and energy and also capable of managing our water resources well and efficiently, then we will stand strong.
Currency and stock prices can fluctuate, but the core issue is we must guarantee food production, food and energy distribution, and good water management. The third point is often overlooked. God has blessed us with abundant water in most parts of our republic, yet some regions still face water shortages. We still lack skills to manage water. Sometimes water even turns into disasters, floods and such. Nevertheless, we must remain grateful since water availability is very limited in many parts of the world. We cannot achieve food security without sufficient water. So I think, this is what we have to do in the near future. We must deepen our understanding of water issues. I also instruct the Minister of Higher Education and Science to review whether our universities’ study programs adequately address water issues. How to find water? How to manage its distribution? How to prevent floods? Water must be a source of productivity, not disaster. I think for hundreds, even thousands of years, we must have known that lowland areas are certainly prone to floods during the rainy season, especially when the rain suddenly falls so intensely, either due to programs or due to climate change. Therefore, we must anticipate it. If I’m not mistaken, water science is still minimally studied in our faculties, particularly part of it which is classified as hydrology.
We are also grateful that the poverty rate has dropped to 8.47 percent. I was informed by experts that this is the lowest figure in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. We are grateful and thankful, but we must not be complacent. We must not be satisfied. The open unemployment rate also dropped to 4.76 percent. This is the lowest since the 1998 crisis. Once again, we must not be satisfied, because 4.76 percent of 287 million people is still a big number. For those who need jobs urgently, this is something we must consider seriously. We understand that this unemployment rate is troubling for those who desperately need work. That’s why we are working hard. But this is a global issue, especially with the rapid development of technology. Many disruptions in production and industry are taking place. This must be anticipated. The emergence of artificial intelligence has accelerated research tremendously and reduced significantly the number of workers required in that field. Robotics has also emerged; we must note this. In Germany, Volkswagen factories that usually employed 5,000–6,000 workers now only need 30 people—the rest being replaced by robots. This must be anticipated.
Also, I would like to thank the ministers and coordinating ministers, for the first time in history, our Republic now, our Government now has the National Single Social and Economic Data, DTSEN. For the very first time. From now on, no ministry, no institution is allowed to use its own data, it is now one data. We want to improve the accuracy of the distribution of social assistance; inaccurate data can lead to waste of funds. Incorrect data may cause those who are entitled to assistance not to receive it, while those who are not eligible may receive it. Therefore, I believe this is the strategic value of DTSEN. We are also continuing to work hard to digitize and utilize technology to run a more efficient government.
In the health, education, and humanity sectors, up until today under the Free Nutritious Meal program, 12,508 Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) or central kitchen units have been established, out of a national target of 32,000 units. This means, as of today, a total of 1,410,000,000 portions of Free Nutritious Meal have been cooked and distributed since January 6, 2025. Until today, there are 36,700,000 students, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under five have received free nutritious meal, 36,700,000. It is as if we are feeding six times the population of Singapore every day. This is an achievement that is monitored by many countries, based from what I know, the President of Brazil told me they need eleven years to reach 40 million. But thank God, in one year we have reached 36 million.
Indeed, Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has been working hard to reach 40 million by today. But I told him not to force it, ojo ngoyo, what matters is a proper implementation. The current achievement of 36.7 million is not without flaws, there have been a few thousand cases of food poisoning, stomachaches. But if we look at the statistics, 8,000 out of 1,410,000,000 portions, I think this still falls within a humanly acceptable margin of error. If I’m not mistaken, the rate of such incidents is around 0.0007 percent, meaning 99.99 percent of the program has been successful. So, I think, in all human endeavors, it’s almost impossible to carry out an operation of this scale, continuously for a year, with zero error or zero defect, that would be extremely difficult. Nevertheless, I have emphasized to Head of the BGN and his ranks to establish a strict standard operating procedure, using the best equipment to ensure that shortcomings or deviance do not occur. We must also ensure teachers and everyone involved to educate our children properly, if they wish to eat with their hands, they must wash their hands thoroughly beforehand. This means that every school should have access to clean water and soap. Still, it would be good to start teaching children proper hygiene habits, since children may sometimes think they’ve washed their hands properly when they haven’t. Perhaps Head of the BGN could consider distributing disposable spoons instead, it’s not a problem, and these spoons are not too expensive. Although I understand that many of our people prefer eating with their hands because it feels more enjoyable. As leaders, teachers, and parents, we must keep reminding them about cleanliness and good habits.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In addition, 43 million people have already taken advantage of the Free Health Check-up program. I believe this is also the first program of its kind in the history of our Republic. Every citizen has the right to a free health check-up once a year on their birthday. And this enables us to prevent illnesses, so that later the cost of treatment will be lower if we know the health issues of our people from an early stage. However, this also creates a very big task for us, because the results of the free health check-up show that most of our people have dental problems, mostly dental diseases. This means that we now need to produce a much larger number of dentists, this is in addition to the fact that we also lack general practitioners, our shortage is very large. If I’m not mistaken, we are short more than 140,000 doctors, our shortage is over 140,000 doctors. We also lack specialists, thousands of specialists, this is another challenge. And this is not only happening to us, almost every country I visit, when I ask the government for their views, almost all of them say that they are short of doctors. And of course, wealthy countries can bring in doctors from less wealthy countries, graduates from anywhere, because they are tempted by the fact that countries like the UK have a huge shortage of doctors. They take doctors from everywhere, Germany, Western Europe, America. Doctors and nurses are recruited from many places because those countries can pay very high salaries, and this becomes a problem for us. This means that our education policies must be adjusted, we need to add more medical faculties, and even the existing medical faculties must increase their number of students. And if necessary, we should increase scholarships, perhaps LPDP scholarship’s top priority should include the field of medicine.
From the 500 Sekolah Rakyat planned by the Government, 166 schools have officially started operating. It is such a remarkable achievement and I thank related ministers for realizing it. I expected 100 schools to be operated in mid 2026, but beyond my expectation, you managed to make it happen in 2025. Thus, 15,945 students from the lowest-income families, both from the first and second deciles who did not get access to education because they have to help their parents by working as waste pickers, and some live on the streets, can now go to Sekolah Rakyat (the people’s school). Sekolah Rakyat was designed to break the cycle of poverty. We help children from underpriviledged families.
The children or grandchildren of poor people don’t have to remain poor. We must have the courage to change, to break the cycle of poverty. We can’t just give up to our circumstances. Those at the very bottom of the economy are often the most overlooked. The elites never see, let alone experience, their hardships. They can be considered as the invisible people. We used to think if we do not see their suffering, then they are not suffering. But that is not the case. In fact, because we do not see it then we cannot feel it. Are we doing enough for them? It is not enough but at least we are trying. If we do not have the capabilities to help many, help some. If we cannot help some people, help just a person. If we cannot even help an individual, do not make their live harder. It is so simple. We must do what we can do and we can do if we want to.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Insha Allah, I believe the 500 schools will help 500,000 underpriviledged families and extremely poor families. It is because Sekolah Rakyat integrates elementary (SD), junior high (SMP), and senior high/vocational schools (SMA/SMK) within a single education campus where 1,000 students studying.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In addition to the Sekolah Rakyat, we have also established 10 schools dedicating for high-achieving students. The previous program gives hope to children from the lowest-income families. Nevertheless, we also need to support the brightest students from across Indonesia, gather them, and give them the best education so one day they can be the Nobel prize winners. We expect Indonesia to excel in science and technology since the future of our nation and all countries depends on science and technology. We need more smart children; we need engineers, professors, mathematicians, biologists, experts in every field of technology. We are a very rich country which possesses critical minerals. We have what are called rare earth minerals, but we still need scientists, researchers, and experts capable of managing our wealth. We must no longer be deceived by other nations.
Distinguished Guests,
We have established Garuda Excellence Schools. We are planning to build 10 Garuda Excellence Schools and integrate 14 existing excellence schools into this program. So, for this program, any existing school can join, as long as it follows the international standards curriculum that we adopted, namely International Baccalaureate. The curriculum allows graduates to gain admission to the world’s top universities. Through this program, we hope many of our students will attend top schools around the world such as Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and the like. Currently, Minister and Vice Minister of Higher Education, Professor Stella, are overseeing the program. For the record, I also went to Harvard, but only to the bookstore. But you all actually are impressed, even if it was just for a few seconds, right?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Government is currently renovating 16,140 elementary, junior high, and senior high school buildings. However, we are far from satisfied since we have more than 300,000 school buildings consisting of elementary, junior high, and senior high, vocational school, and Islamic boarding schools. If I am not mistaken, it is 330 thousand, yes, Minister of Education, 330 thousand. My friends, we understand that we must catch up with other countries. Therefore, we will make every effort to do so. Earlier, we mentioned Garuda High School, we hope to have 10 each year. And the criteria are very high, but that is not a problem because we are a great nation. If I am not mistaken, according to statistics from all countries, about 1 percent of the population is estimated to have an IQ of 120 or higher.
In my opinion, one percent of 280 million people is a large number. If around 4.8 to 4.9 million, let’s say 5 million people enter the workforce each year, that means 1 percent of half of that would be about 2.8 million people. We need to find and nurture them, and we must not assume that they all come from middle- or upper-class families. Many children from poor families actually have high intelligence so we must find them. So, I called on the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, assisted by other ministers, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, the Minister of Social Affairs, as well as the Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and the Chief of Indonesian National Police (Polri), who have networks in villages, perhaps also with the help of community organizations and foundations, to find these children and educate them with full scholarships. I will increase the funding for the Government’s Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) scholarships. The money saved from efficiency of the state budget and the recovered funds from corruptors should be invested into LPDP. Maybe a portion of Rp13 trillion recovered and handed over by the Attorney General to the Minister of Finance today can be allocated to LPDP for the future.
Distinguished Guests,
This year, one of the Government’s programs aimed at improving our educational sector is by providing interactive panel, 75-inch interactive flat panels (IFPs) to every schools be it elementary, junior high, and senior high schools. We have provided IFPs to around 50,000 schools, right Minister? 50,000 schools have been equipped with IFPs from the target of 288,000 IFPs to be distributed this year. IFP with built-in computer can store hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of pieces of content, right, Minister? All of our syllabi will be available right there. Therefore, schools at the frontier and outermost regions or schools that lack access to qualified or specialized teachers, for instance, in English, Chinese, or mathematics, which are often considered as challenging subjects, can receive support through this program. After a lesson, students can return anytime if they need further help. If some students still struggle to understand the material, the teacher can hold additional sessions later in the day to ensure everyone catches up.
Teachers will get support. We will establish a studio in Jakarta where the best teachers will teach and their lessons can be accessed and broadcasted throughout all corners of Indonesia. I will check the progress at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Thus, all schools can get access to the best teachers who teach challenging subjects, particularly for schools located in the mountains or remote islands. Even in the outskirts of Jakarta, I believe many schools still lack teachers who excel in difficult subjects. Now, with a centralized studio, lessons can be delivered to 330,000 schools across the country. For schools with limited internet access, very affordable technology is now available to provide connectivity in every school. While Starlink may still be expensive for monthly fees, there are already cheaper alternatives. Next year, we plan to expand the number of screens. This year, we implemented one screen; next year, we aim for three. This means each school will have four classrooms equipped with screens. By 2027, we hope to add two more, so each school will have six classrooms with screens. This ensures that all our students have access to the best, most up-to-date knowledge, enhanced with animations and top support.
I have received report from the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education that children’s enthusiasm for school is increasing. Besides free nutritious food (MBG), students found the lessons taught at school are also engaging. I believe this is important because our focus must be clear, we should focus on the most important investment for our people, for our children, namely investment in our human resources.
During my working visit, I also noticed that there were students who perhaps because of limited resources, often write very small to save paper. I asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to pay attention to this. I think we need to bring back lessons on proper handwriting which teaches children to write neatly, clearly, and with letters that are large enough to read easily.
Minister of Finance, if necessary, we need to distribute folio-sized books to students so they can learn to make proper handwriting. I am concerned if they continue to write very small, they will end up wearing glasses. It is a minor issue but crucial. I am deeply moved because I know this child does not want to burden their parents, so they save paper. Can you imagine that?
Lasty, this is still in the planning stage. Some have asked, “There are Sekolah Rakyat for the first and second deciles. What about the third, fourth, and fifth?” They may not be extremely poor, but they still face challenges and deserve access to quality education. I am currently working on this. I have asked the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, with support from other ministries, to form a task force to plan integrated schools in every district, potentially around 7,000 schools. Right now, elementary, junior high, senior high, and vocational schools are separate, and many elementary schools are underutilized due to declining birth rates. For instance, there are schools that employ six teachers but they only have four or five students. We can consolidate schools, for example, into one well-equipped campus per district. Each integrated school will have excellent laboratories for mathematics, chemistry, biology, and languages. Language skills are especially crucial for work. Many Filipinos succeed abroad because of their proficiency in English.
European countries asked for our manpower. They asked for one million manpower per year. Head of State and Government at European countries asked me, “Can you send?”. Many hotels lack of workers; restaurants are struggling because locals often do not want to work as servers. On the other hand, Indonesians are known for their hospitalities. To meet this demand, we need to train our people about languages such as English, which is widely used in Europe, as well as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. There is also a growing need for Indonesian nurses and caregivers for the elderly since locals do not want to take the jobs. It is because these are physically demanding jobs involving patient care such as taking care of patients with sleeping to bathing, and exposure to health risks at the hospitals. Imagine the hardship of the jobs. Our people are known for their patience, politeness, and friendliness, qualities that make them highly demanded. We must prepare them, because these are the jobs our workforce needs.
I should not take credit from the integrated school because it has not been implemented. Nevertheless, we must consider these schools. Facilities of the integrated schools are similar with that of Sekolah Rakyat, but without student dormitory. Why do we place the children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds in dormitories? So they can step out of the cycle of poverty and build their self-confidence. Of course, most of them will want to see their parents again, and that is fine because parents can visit, and the children can go home on weekends, at least they are temporarily out of poverty for those five or six days. But this integrated schools do not have dormitories so students have to commute to school. This means we need to provide shuttle buses for school transportation. I believe this is a viable solution and I will ask the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, assisted by the Ministry of Science and other relevant ministries, to study this carefully, plan it, and implement it. Hopefully, by 2026, some of these integrated schools will already be operational.
In conclusion, Sekolah Rakyat is dedicated for the lowest-income families while integrated school is for middle-income families, and excellence school is for the brightest students. The brightest students are not necessarily coming from wealthy families. We must find the smartest children wherever they are. That were the Government programs in education, healthcare, and humanitarian sectors.
In addition, we are also increasing teacher allowances and sending them directly from the Central Government to the recipients, without going through channels that usually delay payments for days or weeks. Additionally, 1,044,174 students continue to receive Indonesia Smart Card (KIP) program for university students.
We also congratulate Universitas Indonesia for breaking into the top 200 of QS World University Rankings for the first time. Nevertheless, I have asked the Minister of Higher Education and Vice Minister to aim for the Top 100. Can we do it? I believe we can. And I am sure ITB, UGM, ITS, and other universities will follow soon after.
We have established Ministry of Hajj in response to a request from the government of Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, the manajement of Hajj is overseen by a Minister; therefore, they requested that we provide the same level of ministerial authority for effective coordination. Previously, this responsibility was held by a Head of Agency, which does not hold a ministerial status. Consequently, we had to adapt our structure accordingly. Alhamdulillah, we have succeeded in reducing the Hajj fee, and I have asked Minister of Hajj, who is currently in Saudi Arabia and working closely with their counterparts, to continue stricing for greater efficiencies, transparency, and good governance in further lowering the cost of Hajj.
The waiting period for Hajj departure, from the submission of an application to the actual departure, has been successfully cut from 40 years to 26 years. Nevertheless, this remains a considerable length of time. We remain committed to making further reductions to shorten the waiting periode even more.
Alhamdulillah, for the first time ever, the Government of Saudi Arabia has approved the establishment of the Indonesian Village in Mecca. This achievement is the result of our persistent hard work and dedication, perhaps even, as a lighhearted noted, they felt sympathy for us. Significantly, this marks the first instance in which a foreign country has been permitted to own land in the holy city of Mecca. Saudi Arabia has amended its law specifically to make it possible. Indonesia is the first country to receive this privilege. While others may follow in the future, we are honored to have pioneered this milestone.
We were pleasantly surprised by the numerous offers of land that became available to us. It is our hope that we we will secure a plot close to Masjid al-Haram [the Great Mosque of Mecca] with direct access. We trust that Minister of Religious Affairs has already initiated the planning; we will monitor. The Head of Danantara has also been actively involved; making so many trips there that, as a lighthearted remark, it’s said he wore his hair out in the process. Alhamdulillah, this marks a significant achievement. Let us look forward with optimism to soon having our own Kampung Haji (Hajj village).
In the future, we will be able to directly manage the facilities, including food services. This will ensure greater efficiency and help prevent any disappointment among Indonesian pilgrims.
This is a remarkable achievement.
For the first time in history, Saudi Arabia has amended its law to allow foreign countries to own land within its territory. Indonesia has been offered one of the most strategic locations, which is now available through a tender process that closes on October 30. We must therefore work diligently to seize this important opportunity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have continued to advocate for our interests. During my meeting with the Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs, I inquired about the number of applicants, given that the tender closes on October 30. To my surpise, there are 90 entities competing for the same land we are targeting. Let us remain hopeful and my Minister of Religious Affairs lead us in a special prayer so that we may secure this prospective land.
These represent our collective achievements across the secors of health, education, humanitarian efforts and religious affairs.
Next, let’s move on to investment, job creation, and Danantara. For the first time in history, online motorcycle taxi drivers received a holiday bonus. Also, the Government is currently in discussions with online ride-hailing companies to find the best solutions for their drivers and to improve efficiency, so that we can avoid harmful competition. However, we want to ensure that ride-hailing jobs and the livelihoods of drivers are secured. If I’m not mistaken, there are four million drivers in these two large companies and around two million MSMEs actors who depends on them as delivery services for their products. In other words, six million people make a living from this business. Likewise, we already implement the 6.5 percent increase in provincial minimum wages, the highest in recent years.
In addition, we have calculated that the Nutritional Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) have already created nearly one million new jobs and the number will likely reach at least 1.5 million next year. In the future, we will have 30,000 SPPGs. If all SPPGs are operational, each kitchen will need 50 workers. So, 50 times 30,000 equals 1.5 million. Each kitchen currently receives an average of 15 suppliers selling eggs, vegetables, and various other items. Each kitchen employs at least five to ten people. We can calculate the multiplier effect of this.
I received a visit from the Rockefeller Institute. They reviewed and studied our Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG). They told me that our program is being highlighted by countries around the globe. They said it is the largest and fastest program in terms of returns. They have reviewed several countries and they said there are now 112 countries implementing the program. When we started, our country sat at number 78 or 79 among all countries implementing the program, but now dozens more countries have realized the importance of this MBG. They said that based on their calculation, for every dollar invested in the free nutritious meal program, the return on the investment ranges from 5 to 37 dollars in the long term. You can imagine, they said that this program’s economic impact is fivefold. So, if next year we allocate Rp330 trillion, which is equivalent to around US$20 billion, for the MBG, then a fivefold impact would mean about US$100 billion circulating in villages, subdistricts, and regencies. For the first time in Indonesia’s history, we are reversing fund flows that usually go from the regions to the Central Government and many of which then go abroad. Now, we are channeling that money directly into villages, subdistricts, and regencies. That is the view of experts, not my own opinion. You can check it with the Rockefeller Institute. If I am not mistaken, their Senior Vice President is Mr. Roy Cohn or Roy Steiner. My apologies if I have misremembered; I have just turned 74 years old. Thank you for your kind congratulations. Also, regarding the implementation of the MBG, we are working with 18,895 MSMEs, cooperatives, and village-owned enterprises that form part of the MBG ecosystem.
This is also encouraging news: from January to September 2025, our realized investment reached Rp1,434 trillion, meaning there is an increase of 13.7 percent compared to the same period in the last year and it has generated 1,956,346 new jobs. We have achieved our investment target last September. I believe this also shows our investment climate is still highly attractive to many countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have also launched an internship program: 100,000 bachelor’s degree graduates will participate in internships, and will receive income covered by the Government, the amount of which is equivalent to the regional minimum wage. In the tourism sector, for the first time in our history, we have successfully brought in an assessment from Michelin—the world-renowned organization. As a result, 33 of our hotels and resorts have received Michelin stars, with at least one star each. This is very important in the tourism industry. This means we are now among the top-tier in the world. Over the past year, the number of tourists has increased by 12 percent, reaching 14.8 million visits. I believe this is something we should be proud of.
Furthermore, this year, one of our achievements is that we have established a sovereign wealth fund, named Danantara Indonesia. Danantara stands for Daya Anagata Nusantara. Daya means energy or strength, while Anagata means future. So, Danantara means the future strength of Nusantara. We have collected all state-owned assets, worth 1,060 billion dollars, or US$1 trillion. This becomes the fifth or sixth largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. I think this gives us power. These investment bodies used to be working solo, but now it becomes a powerful body.
For example, one of Danantara’s current projects is to begin building 34 waste processing facilities in major cities. The waste will be converted into energy and electricity. We will soon begin the construction of 34 (facilities). The funding is ready. It is just about to deliver the projects to contractors and assess the best technology to use, because this is very important. There are landfills where trash is already piling up, especially in Bantargebang (Jakarta), Bandung, Surabaya, and Bali. This is very urgent. If I’m not mistaken, I received a report that in Bantargebang, it has reached tens of millions of tons, 55 million tons. The 55 million tons of waste are already piling up. If heavy rains occur, it could endanger many surrounding villages. We will execute this immediately, inshaallah, in two years we will complete (the construction) in 34 cities. This is a very strategic issue because it concerns cleanliness and health. How can we expect tourism to grow if Bali can’t clean up its trash? Can you imagine how tourists would want to come to a dirty, filthy place? So, this is crucial. Thank you, Danantara, start executing it immediately.
Then, downstreaming. We will soon begin building the largest battery factory in Indonesia, worth Rp100 trillion. This is done in collaboration with one of the world’s largest battery companies, CATL and Antam.
In the MSMEs sector, we have written off old debts for farmers and fishers, so that almost 67,000 MSMEs actors, farmers, and fishers can now regain access to banking capital. We have also established 81,613 village and sub-district cooperatives across Indonesia. Approximately 100 (cooperatives) have been established, and approximately 1,000 warehouses have been broken ground. We hope that by early 2026, around March 2026, around 80,000 (warehouses) will be operational. Many people don’t believe it, but we will always prove it with evidence. Our Government is evidence-based.
When I launched the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, many laughed at me, criticized me, and even now some claim that the program is useless or dangerous, but we have proven it with evidence. It is 99.99 percent success rate; I think that’s pretty good. And, children are talking about it everywhere.
Moreover, food sector is one of our achievements. This is so relieving for us. I set target four years for us to self-sufficiency, and it turns out that our food team has succeeded in one year, Ladies and Gentlemen. We are now in October, and at the moment our national production from January to October has reached 31,038,197 tons. This is the highest production in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. So, we may hold our heads high with honor. I gave them a four-year target, which they achieved in one year. In addition, the Government rice reserves in the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouses reaching 4.2 million tons in June 2025 are also the highest in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. Then, the farmer’s exchange rate soared to 123, the highest in the history as well. Then, we have raised the purchase price of unhusked rice to Rp6,500 per kilogram and we have firmly taken action against unscrupulous companies that manipulate the price and deceive the people. Subsidized rice is tagged [and] sold at premium price. We take strict action on this. We have also now successfully distributed fertilizer directly from the factory to farmers. We have abolished 145 rules/regulations regarding fertilizer distribution. So, we have reduced the number of signatures; these signatures are the source of the problem. So, we’ve shorthened the process.
Then, we have now started developing 225,000 hectares of new rice fields. This is to address the loss of nearly 100,000 hectares of our rice fields every year. They are lost because they are being used for other purposes. They are bought, turned into real estate, or turned into factories—we do need them. But ultimately, how are we going to secure food security if fertile rice fields are being lost? We need to create them immediately. Alhamdulilah, we have started. Hopefully, by the end of next year, we will be even more secure if we create 480,000 hectares of new rice fields by the end of next year. We are also intensifying our existing rice fields with pumping, so our production can skyrocket. Fertilizer, seeds, and water are good with our intervention. We will secure the entire rice production ecosystem.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The problem now is our shortage of warehouses. We are ready to address the challenges. Bulog will build 100 warehouses as soon as possible.
Furthermore, we have begun building 100 fishing villages which we plan to build by the end of 2026, bringing the total to 1,100. During 80 years of Indonesia’s existence, there has been no such efforts to improve the lives of our fishers. Now, we are implementing the program, and from the pilot project in Merauke, fishers’ incomes have increased 100 percent. This is incredible. They did not use to have ice—the most basic thing is not having ice because there are no ice factories in remote areas. How could they keep their fish fresh? They go fishing in one day and return home, their fish will be no longer fresh. Now, every fishing village will have ice production, cold storage, warehouses, and other facilities. We are also building 1,582 modern fishing vessels. Inshaallah, by the end of next year, in 2027, we will have 1,582 modern fishing vessels ranging from 30 to 10,000 GT. This will generate foreign exchange and provide protein for our people.
Regarding achievements in the legal field and corruption eradication, we have increased the salaries of the lowest-level judges by 280 percent, and we will continue to do monitoring. We expect our judges to live a good life, have a good quality of life, and live honorably so they cannot be bribed. Our judges must not be bought by anyone; that is our goal. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, we don’t want to favor anyone, but this is very important. Judges must not be bought because they sometimes handle cases worth trillions. As evidence today, we managed to secure Rp13 trillion of the Rp17 trillion decided by the court. So, I think, these judges have the courage and conscience to make decisions, and ultimately, we saved Rp17 trillion of the people’s money. Imagine he is handling a Rp17 trillion case, but he doesn’t have an official residence. I have received reports that thousands of judges don’t have official residences; they have to rent a house. Many of our judges have to rent a house, and we’re fixing this issue.
Then, we have succeeded in diverting Rp306 trillion of the state budget, previously prone to corruption, to programs that directly impact the people. We are using this Rp300 trillion to directly benefit the people. Furthermore, we are determined to ensure that no corruption cases remain uninvestigated. No more (cases) untouchable. I thank law enforcement for their steadfast commitment to continuing this noble task.
Also, law enforcers have successfully saved the state from more than Rp1,000 trillion in losses; we have succeeded in upholding this. We have regained control of more than 4 million hectares of palm oil plantations in forest areas that violated the law and legislation. We have also successfully stopped more than Rp100 trillion in losses from illegal mining, especially the one we recently closed in Bangka Belitung. Even boats can’t leave carrying smuggled goods. I recently received a report that a canoe filled with tin was successfully seized by our naval officers. We stopped this and we saved approximately Rp45 trillion a year. There may be those who are grumbling, but it’s okay. They are the ones who violate the law, who steal from the Indonesian people, resulting in many of us still living in poverty because much of our wealth has been stolen.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the areas of defense, security, resilience, and diplomacy, we continue to strengthen the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) through additional battalions. We don’t want to interfere with anyone. Our duty, the TNI’s duty, is only to defend Indonesia’s sovereignty, but we must not be naive or careless. I mentioned earlier that there are 110 ongoing wars, whereas the UN has around 200 members. Imagine there are 110 conflicts. Hopefully, we can take part in resolving the Gaza crisis. I have ordered the TNI to be ready to send 20,000 (troops). We have also been in contact with several countries to inquire about our readiness. We are ready to support peace efforts in the Middle East and, if necessary, elsewhere.
We have also begun preparations to build a 535-kilometer sea wall on the north coast of Java Island, to protect 50 million people. Sea levels are rising 5 cm a year, so we must immediately save this. On the north coast of Java Island, if I’m not mistaken, around 60 percent of our industry is located there. We have to protect tens of thousands of hectares of fertile rice fields there.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I think those are the achievements that I can deliver this time, and it shows that we are on the right track. I believe that running a government is not actually that complicated.
First, there should be a motivation at the very first place. Our intentions must be good and sincere in carrying out the mandate of our people. We must stand on that basis from the beginning. We are given power by the people to protect our people from all dangers: danger of poverty, danger of hunger, danger of disease, danger of storms and disasters, threat of riots, threat of external attacks. Attacks can be physical or non-physical.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me give you an example of the two Bangka Belitung Islands, we have lost Rp45 trillion every year for decades. Isn’t it an attack? Rp45 trillion multiplied by 10 years is Rp450 trillion, multiplied by 20 years is Rp900 trillion. What can we build with Rp900 trillion?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It’s not yet an achievement, but we have already initiated to have Indonesian-made cars in the next three years. I have allocated funds for that. We have prepared the land for the factories, and the team is working now. We have already produced Indonesian-made jeeps. So, now our officials, our officers, are proud that we don’t ride jeeps made in other countries. We ride jeeps made in Indonesia. When troop commanders lead their troops, they are proud of riding Indonesian jeeps. Your President rides an Indonesian jeep.
Yesterday, I wanted to go in incognito, so I didn’t want to use one. I used a regular car–an Alphard. It’s been a long time since I’ve rode an Alphard, and this one’s nice. But hey, Prabowo, remember, you, the Indonesian President, must set an example. Okay, keep riding the Maung. And soon, you’ll all have to ride the Maung; I don’t care. Only ride your nice cars on holidays; you can enjoy them when I don’t call you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
That’s all I can say, because there are still plenty of cameras. Well, the media thank you for your patience, and now I invite you to enjoy the meal prepared. So, I let you dismiss politely, because you shouldn’t hear this part. There are things that aren’t ready to be announced yet. (RIF/AS/TCUD/RAS/RD/GWH/JAS/EP/TM/MMB/LW)