TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsPrabowo’s ‘Indonesia Incorporated’ vision faces test of market trust
While the government’s call for unity resonates, experts and business leaders caution that the state-centric approach may stifle market forces unless accompanied by reforms to lower economic costs and strengthen the rule of law.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Prabowo Subianto gestures during the 80th United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 at UN headquarters in New York, the United States. (Reuters/Kylie Cooper)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto’s call for “Indonesia Incorporated” reflects his nationalist drive to rally public and private sector stakeholders for collective action, but business leaders and experts say the state-centric approach may stifle market forces unless accompanied by reforms to lower business costs and strengthen the rule of law.
Prabowo floated the concept publicly at the national congress of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in January, just weeks into his term, describing it as a model where the nation is managed like a corporation, with government, private sector and civil society working in tandem under one command to achieve the company’s vision, according to Kadin’s website.
In several public speeches, Prabowo urged entrepreneurs to join the movement and reject what he called “greedy-nomics,” emphasizing that every large corporation and small enterprise had a role to play in advancing national prosperity.
"The strong and the big have their roles, just as the medium and small [enterprises]. We will empower the poor. That is Indonesia Incorporated," he said. “I also want to express my gratitude to every nationalist entrepreneur who has created jobs in Indonesia, invested in Indonesia and kept their business profits in Indonesia.”
The President cited Article 33 of the Constitution, which mandates state control over vital sectors of the economy for the benefit of the people as the basis for his national economic philosophy.
Balancing the state and the market
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chaiwoman Shinta Kamdani said the “Indonesia Incorporated” vision was timely, as the country needed to reframe its growth model toward productivity-driven development built on two mandates: solving national challenges and fostering a shared sense of ownership.
