Prabowo Subianto Stresses He's Not 'Anti-West'

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential candidate number 2 Prabowo Subianto stressed that he in no way holds anti-Western sentiment. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am not Anti-West," he says during a Presidential Candidate Dialogue with Kadin on Friday, January 12, 2024.

He joked, "I like, I like eating Burger King, I like it." Burger King is a US-based fast food chain specializing in hamburgers.

"The problem is the West does not love us, that's the problem. Sometimes, they don't care about us," he said.

Prabowo then gave an example of the change in the role of the National Logistics Agency or Bulog. According to him, it was influenced by the International Monetary Fund or IMF.

"The management was already good in the era of (President Soeharto), why dismantle that? Bulog was appropriately a control operation if the prices for farmers were inadequate [Bulog] took control, but urban consumers were also maintained. But we surrendered to the IMF," he claimed.

Prabowo said the late Indonesian government likely believed that the IMF 'loved' Indonesia. But, he said, there was no 'love' in the relationship between the West and Indonesia.

"If we collapse, they wouldn't care," Prabowo Subianto said.

Three presidential pairs will contest in the upcoming general elections on February 14, 2024. The running candidates are Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud Md.

AMELIA RAHIMA SARI

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