May 23, 2026 | 03:28 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has called on government institutions to postpone the construction of new office buildings, arguing that state spending should prioritize productivity and public welfare over unnecessary infrastructure projects.Speaking at a shrimp harvest event in Kebumen, Central Java, on Saturday, May 23, 2026, Prabowo emphasized that government agencies should focus on generating tangible economic benefits for the public rather than building grand offices without meaningful output.“So, sorry, let’s postpone the construction of many offices for now. Offices are necessary, but there should be no office without productivity,” Prabowo said, as quoted by the Presidential Secretariat.The chairperson of the Gerindra Party stressed that Indonesia should prioritize increasing public prosperity rather than constructing expensive office buildings that fail to produce concrete results.“Grand office buildings mean little if they produce nothing. It is better to have modest offices that deliver real results and productive outcomes,” he said.The former defense minister added that the public needs more jobs and higher incomes, prompting him to ask government officials to delay non-urgent office development projects.Prabowo delivered the remarks during a visit to a shrimp farming site in Kebumen, where he attended a large-scale harvest event alongside several cabinet ministers. Wearing a brown safari shirt and a dark blue hat, the president joined local fishermen in pulling in a net filled with vannamei shrimp, also known as whiteleg shrimp.After taking part in the harvest, Prabowo delivered a speech in a tent set up near the pond area.According to Prabowo, the shrimp farming project in Kebumen has been operating for the past three years. The ponds were inaugurated on March 9, 2023, by former president Joko Widodo and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo.“Today, I am here to witness the shrimp harvest from this project, which has been running for three years and has now resulted in the highest, world-class level of harvest,” Prabowo said.He added that one hectare of ponds at the site can produce up to 40 tons of shrimp, describing the output as an extraordinary achievement for Indonesia’s fisheries sector.Prabowo estimated that each hectare of ponds could generate billions of rupiah in revenue per harvest cycle.“With very good prices, the lowest price is Rp70,000 per kilogram, which means Rp70 million per ton,” he said.Read: Prabowo Joins Fishermen at Shrimp Harvest Event in Central JavaClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
