Prabowo Says Students Protests Represent Social Turmoil

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto opined the students’ demonstration, that took place over the past three days at the Parliament building, represented the public turmoil over the miscarriage of justice in Indonesia.

“If all political networks, all justice networks, all networks for people to voice their worries and get protection do not work, then do we blame our children for taking the streets?” he said during his speech in Kebangsaan Republik Indonesia University (UKRI), Bogor, Thursday, September 26.

However, Jokowi’s political rival in the previous election added that he did not recommend students to stage a street protest, especially UKRI students. “I do not recommend you to hit the streets, moreover if you wear the UKRI jacket,” he remarked.

The former special forces commander went on to say that the government has failed to protect and bring welfare to its people since the country still adheres to neoliberalism which tends to provide benefits to capitalism.

“The state’s root is still neoliberalism, the US itself has left neoliberalism, so why do we still uphold it?” he added.

The politician reiterated that neoliberalism still rooted in Indonesia, which was seen from the rampant imports in food and energy products. The import, he added, had cost the state budget up to $25 billion per year.

“While in fact, we can be self-sufficient in food and energy,” he underlined.

Prabowo Subianto further claimed that he had noted the self-sufficiency program in a strategy designed by him in tandem with experts which is dubbed sustained double-digit growth. “I will give our strategy to any leader because this is our country, we should not be drawn into resentment,” he said.

ADE RIDWAN YANDWIPUTRA