Prabowo: Who's been stubborn, who's defiant, I'll punish you!
President Prabowo Subianto has criticised opponents of his budget efficiency measures accusing government officials of acting as if they are untouchable and being "little kings" as he defended the governments sweeping and increasingly unpopular budget cuts.
Speaking at the 18th congress of the Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the women's wing of Indonesia's largest Islamic mass organisation at the East Java Expo in Surabaya on Monday, Prabowo challenged those resisting the budget cuts to face the public directly.
"You can oppose me, but then you'll have to face all these emak-emak. Stubborn, defiant!", Prabowo declared in his speech, referring to Indonesia's tough and resilient urban housewives.
The president has instructed central and regional governments to cut spending by 306.69 trillion rupiah ($18.9 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year. These cuts are part of an effort to redirect funds to support Prabowo's flagship free nutritious meals (MBG) program for school children and pregnant mothers which will cost a staggering 100 trillion rupiah for this year alone.
Addressing the audience of mostly women, Prabowo outlined the government's plan to eliminate unnecessary spending across ministries and agencies, focusing on activities deemed wasteful or potentially corrupt. "There are those who resist me. In the bureaucracy, some believe they are untouchable, acting like little kings", Prabowo said.
He claimed that the budget cuts are necessary and that they would target programs such as excessive forums and overseas comparative studies, questioning their relevance to pressing issues such as poverty and infrastructure development.
"Enough with studies and focus group discussions. What are we even discussing? Does it solve absolute poverty? Feed the hungry? Repair broken schools? Fix damaged roads? And why conduct comparative studies in Australia, one of the wealthiest countries? Learn how to help the poor instead", he remarked.
[Based on a Jakarta Globe article on February 10 titled "Prabowo defends budget cuts, challenges opponents to face the public".]
