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View all search resultsPrabowo: I ran because Indonesia was on the wrong track
President Prabowo Subianto said his concerns over Indonesia’s trajectory since the 1990s motivated his repeated bids for the presidency, insisting his political ambitions were driven by a desire to change the country’s course rather than personal ambition.
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President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech during a ceremony on June 1 at the Foreign Ministry’s Pancasila building to celebrate the birth of Pancasila 81 years ago, in Jakarta. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto said on Wednesday that his concerns over Indonesia’s trajectory since the 1990s had motivated his repeated bids for the presidency, insisting his political ambitions were driven by a desire to change the country’s course rather than personal ambition.
Speaking at the 18th National Congress of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) in Lampung, Prabowo said he had long believed Indonesia was heading in the wrong direction and felt compelled to seek the nation’s highest office.
"I wanted to become president because I had already seen that, since the 1990s, Indonesia was moving in the wrong direction," he said.
Prabowo, who unsuccessfully ran for president twice and for vice president twice before taking office in October 2024, said becoming president was never an end in itself.
"I didn't want to become president just for the sake of being president. Do you think it is easy?" he said.
The President also criticized what he described as a tendency among political elites to engage in constant disputes, contrasting them with ordinary Indonesians, whom he said better understand the value of cooperation and unity.
“Sometimes our elites can be harsh. Nearly all national elites keep arguing among themselves. The elites are the ones who are constantly fighting, while the people are not.”
