Indonesia
President Prabowo Subianto (center) operates a rice plowing machine on Nov. 3, 2024, at a field cultivated as part of a national scheme to achieve food self-sufficiency, during his visit to Telaga Sari village, Merauke, South Papua. (AFP/Handout/Indonesian Presidential Palace)
President Prabowo Subianto has brushed aside mounting criticism of his administration, defending his push to improve economic equality and food security in his first direct response to growing protests against his costly flagship programs amid economic hardships.Speaking at the opening of the 17th National Farmers and Fishermen Week event in Gorontalo on Wednesday, Prabowo took aim at what he described as “intellectuals” who oppose his multibillion-dollar free nutritious meal program and question its urgency.
“There is nothing more urgent than hunger. If someone is hungry and it is not immediately addressed, they can die,” Prabowo said, urging skeptics to speak directly with beneficiaries to better understand the program’s impact.
The comments came amid weeks of student-led protests in Jakarta and other cities, where demonstrators demanded that the government halt what they called “wasteful” spending and scrap costly flagship initiatives, including the free meals program, which is allocated Rp 268 trillion (US$14.9 billion) this year. Critics have questioned the program’s financing amid rising living costs and a weakening rupiah.
