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Prabowo vows to hike local content requirement
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka plan to raise the bar for how much local content must be included in some domestically manufactured goods, a policy they say will push downstream industry growth.
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Campaign trail: Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto (center) shakes hands with members of the crowd on Dec. 2, 2023, during a meeting with religious and community figures at the Primajasa bus terminal in Tasikmalaya, West Java. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
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residential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka plan to increase the share of local content (TKDN) to be included in commodities for downstream industries.
Drajad H. Wibowo, a member of Prabowo and Gibran's campaign team, announced plans to increase the TKDN at an event hosted by Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday.
"We will develop infrastructure, and of course, we will increase the local content requirement," Drajad said.
Prabowo is currently leading in most polls, although only by a small margin over the Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD duo. The pairing of Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar trails in a distant third spot but is gaining momentum.
On Nov. 13, Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kenji Kanasugi asked Prabowo about the TKDN policy, noting it was an obstacle for many businesses.
Prabowo replied: “Yes, in principle we need to maintain free trade, but there’s another principle that’s important for us and that’s the equal playing field. The principle of fairness. So, regarding raw materials, we feel that’s it the right of our people to want to be as advanced as you [Japan],” Prabowo said.”
The candidate, who is currently serving as defense minister, suggested this was a necessity for lifting the standard of living in Indonesia.
