Prabowo Counters ‘Dark Indonesia’ Narrative, Citing Poverty and Unemployment Rates Decline

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto claimed that Indonesia’s national development is currently on the right track. He also refuted the circulating narrative of a ‘dark Indonesian economy,’ highlighting that investment achievements have exceeded expectations, and both poverty and unemployment rates have declined.

Prabowo conveyed these remarks during his speech at the closing ceremony of the 2025 Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Congress in Surakarta, Central Java, on Sunday night, July 20, 2025. His statement aimed to counter pessimistic narratives suggesting Indonesia is in a dire state or experiencing economic failure.

“The Investment Minister reported to me that Indonesia’s investment has reached its target this month. Our 2025 State Budget also met its target in August, four months ahead of schedule,” Prabowo said, as reported by Antara.

According to the Cabinet Secretariat’s website, Investment Minister and Head of BKPM, Rosan Roeslani, reported that investment realization in the first quarter of 2025 reached Rp465.2 trillion. This figure represents 24.4 percent of the total investment target for the year, which is Rp1,905.6 trillion.

Prabowo further dismissed the ‘Dark Indonesia’ narrative as an attempt to dampen the nation’s spirit. He emphasized that reports from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) confirm a decrease in Indonesia’s absolute poverty and unemployment rates.

Specifically, BPS data indicates Indonesia’s absolute poverty rate was 8.57 percent as of September 2024, and the open unemployment rate (TPT) was 5.32 percent as of August 2023.

Prabowo also highlighted the establishment of the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency, or Danantara, describing it as a symbol of the nation’s future energy and a tool for preserving and managing wealth for Indonesia’s future generations. Danantara is reported to manage assets exceeding US$1,000 billion.

“Danantara is the future energy of the Indonesian nation. It is meant to preserve and manage the wealth of our children and grandchildren, our future generations,” Prabowo concluded.”

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