Prabowo Promises to Fix Indonesia's Mismanaged Natural Wealth

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Opposition party’s presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia is a rich nation that is managed incorrectly which he vows to fix once he gets voted as president.

He says that many of Indonesia’s rich resources end up either overseas or gets corrupted and gave an example of Indonesia’s fate in the past under the Dutch colonization that saw most of the country’s herbs and spices be taken to Europe.

 “We are all aware of how rich our country is. Why would foreigners arrive to this place if we were not rich? They came because of our wealth, our herbs and spices, our natural resources,” said Prabowo Subianto in the Indonesian Metal Workers Union Federation in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Read also: Prabowo Camp: Govt Constructions a Burden for State Budget

Prabowo maintains that the resources must be used for the welfare of its people, assuming that it is managed the correct way.

“This is why, in order to let the people manage the country’s wealth, we need institutions that are free from corruption,” said the Gerindra Party chairman.

Prabowo Subianto estimates that 25 percent of the government’s budget “leaks” are caused by massive markups by a group of people. He claims that Indonesia’s budget can potentially lose Rp500 billion from Rp2,000trillion.

FIKRI ARIGI