The Prabowo Presidency Has a Large Cabinet

Will his domestic ambitions refocus the attention from the global stage?

Hi everyone, we’re back after a few weeks of absence to bring you our analysis of what President Prabowo Subianto said in his energetic hour long inauguration speech on Sunday morning as the new President of Indonesia and whether it can serve as any indication of his leadership style and policy priorities for his administration. We already know he’s very militaristic given his background and his messaging has been pretty consistent across his three election campaigns. What did he say and what can we expect for the next five years? This is a long one, so get ready to dive in.

TL;DR

Prabowo Subianto’s administration is setting out with a bold, self-reliant vision for Indonesia, promising to fix corruption, achieve food and energy independence, and lift up the poor. While his speech shows an appetite for reform and domestic focus, the question remains: Can he really clean up the mess and meet these ambitious goals? And will his inward-looking policies risk isolating Indonesia from global benefits? Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride.

Here’s the full text of his speech in Indonesian if you want to read it and here’s the video in full.

More of the Same or a Drastic Change?

In his inaugural address, Prabowo Subianto painted a picture of a tough, no-nonsense administration focused on domestic reform. He’s got a clear to-do list: attack corruption, end reliance on foreign food and energy, and make sure everyone can have a decent meal (at least one nutritious meal per day!). But here's the rub, every president before him, including Joko Widodo, has had similar promises. So, what makes Prabowo's vision different?

Food and Energy Independence

Prabowo’s dream of an Indonesia that grows its own food and powers itself is noble, but is it realistic? He’s talking about becoming self-sufficient within four to five years, which is kind of like saying you’ll run a marathon after buying your first pair of running shoes. Sure, Indonesia has the resources (palm oil, geothermal energy, coal)—but so did the last administration.

Jokowi focused on building infrastructure (roads, ports, airports) to bolster economic growth, but Prabowo seems to want to pivot that focus inward. If Prabowo does pull it off, it’ll be a great comeback story. If he doesn’t? Indonesia could find itself unprepared in a global food or energy crisis.

Prabowo vowed to bring free school lunches as part of his campaign promise to bolster child health and eliminate malnutrition. The Jokowi administration had obliged by exploring trials and experiments and adjusting the 2025 state budget to accommodate the plan, but so far nothing concrete has been established other than the fact that it’s going to eat up a large chunk of the budget. The Food Estate program that Prabowo ran as Defense Minister and is a cornerstone of his grand plan, has been called a failure.

Corruption Crackdown: Turning the Titanic

Next on Prabowo’s list: tackling corruption. Since the end of Soeharto’s reign in 1998 every president had always wanted to eradicate corruption. B.J Habibie passed a law that laid the foundation for the country’s war on corruption but a tumultuous period meant that it wasn’t until 2003 under Megawati Soekarnoputri’s Presidency that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was formed. An independent organization reporting directly to the President, the KPK was seen as a beacon of light that exposed and accused, arrested, and convicted numerous government officials including ministers for abusing their power. That was until Joko Widodo and his DPR started to meddle in investigations, discouraging the KPK from going after certain high ranking officials, before eventually passing a legislation that effectively weakened the KPK after a decade of effort by the DPR.

In his fiery speech Prabowo talked tough about “leakages” in government spending and “naughty businesspeople” colluding with officials, suggesting his administration is ready to flip the system on its head. In the 2014 election debates Prabowo famously shouted “bocor, bocor”, referring to leaks in government spending, economic losses, and natural resources taken away from the people.

While Jokowi also targeted corruption, Prabowo is positioning himself as the guy who’s really going to root it out. But, and it’s a big "but", what happens when his reforms step on the toes of the political and business elites that have kept things running as they like? He talks tough on corruption but so did Jokowi before he gutted the KPK to benefit his allies, and ultimately himself.

Economic Equality: Wong Cilik’s Hero or the Next Disappointment?

Prabowo seems to be angling to win the hearts of Indonesia's poorest by putting them at the center of his policies. While Jokowi focused on infrastructure, Prabowo is setting his sights on improving the daily lives of the poor (“wong cilik”). He wants to make sure everyone has a meal, kids have clothes for school, and unemployment shrinks.

This wong cilik lingo has been typically associated with Megawati with whom he ran as VP for her Presidency in 2008 before losing to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Budiono. The two have always had a complicated relationship as political allies and rivals. This year, she and her party, PDIP, have publicly vowed to support his presidency through the legislative without seeking even a single cabinet position. This followed a bitter period prior to the election when Jokowi, seeking a break from the matriarch, took a very visible position supporting Prabowo’s presidential ambitions instead of PDIP’s plans.

But here's where skepticism creeps in: Prabowo criticizes over-reliance on glowing economic stats, understood by the public to be taking a jab at Jokowi’s economic claims, implying that the numbers don’t reflect the reality. He’s offering hope and has numerous times stated his aim for an incredibly ambitious 8% economic growth , but whether he can deliver concrete results is anyone’s guess. Indonesia’s economy hasn’t broken the 6% mark ever since Yudhoyono was president.

Leadership Style: The Tough Guy with a Heart of Gold?

Prabowo’s speech has echoes of both a strongman and a unifier. He’s ready to fix Indonesia’s problems with a firm hand, but he’s also calling for unity and an end to the political feuding that has marred previous administrations. He even graciously gave a nod to Jokowi for leading during tough times (COVID-19, anyone?).

But, after several failed presidential bids, Prabowo is likely looking to cement his legacy. And while his "let's all come together" message sounds good, Indonesian politics are still as polarized as ever. Uniting the country behind his vision may not be as easy as he makes it sound although he did manage to round up a big tent coalition in his campaign and in his cabinet.

Of all the parties that made it into the DPR this term, only PDIP, PKS, and NasDem were not represented in the cabinet and both PDIP and NasDem have vowed support from the DPR. On the streets, it’s a different story. The election remained polarized and supporters of Anies Baswedan are still strongly opposed to Prabowo’s presidency. It also needs to be said that while the political parties may appear to openly voice support, things may be less obvious internally. Indonesian politics is and has always been extremely fluid.

The full list of his cabinet appointments is available here while the list of deputy minsters are on the second page. While Jokowi had 34 ministries and 8 ministerial level positions at the end of this term, with a total of 60 appointees including 18 deputy ministers, Prabowo expanded that into 48 ministries after a recent revision to the 2008 law on government ministries, keeping 14 of Jokowi’s appointees. Jokowi may well be a furniture entrepreneur before he jumped into politics but oh boy, Prabowo sure has the bigger cabinet.

His cabinet is the largest since Soekarno’s downfall comprising 109 appointees including 56 deputy ministers and deputy agency heads. Soekarno had 132 for just over a month before Soeharto staged a coup and took over the government.

Indonesia’s Global Stature: Are We Heading for Isolation?

While Prabowo talks big about Indonesia becoming self-sufficient, there’s a potential downside, turning inward might make the country less competitive globally. Jokowi, for all his domestic challenges, positioned Indonesia as a player on the global stage. Being part of the G20 and opening doors for trade were big wins. If Prabowo’s administration focuses too much on internal issues, could Indonesia lose the momentum Jokowi built?

Prabowo is keen on adopting past policies that align with his goals. He wants to keep Indonesia friendly with all nations and even rephrased Yudhoyono’s 1000 friends, zero enemies line during his speech (he's also sticking with the non-aligned, non-military pact policy, surprise!), but without strong global ties, the country might miss out on economic opportunities, international investments, and valuable partnerships.

Jokowi had also steered the country much closer towards China with numerous trade, economic, and infrastructure deals but Prabowo’s speech appears to signal a step away from such close ties, preferring to maintain equal relationships with foreign blocs. His focus is clearly internal development, strengthening human resources, and improving talent quality. While those seem to be internally focused goals, they would be far easier to achieve with international ties and relationships with more academically inclined and researched oriented nations.

Prabowo’s Promises vs. Reality

Prabowo is promising a lot. Self-sufficiency, corruption reform, and economic equality. If he delivers, he’ll be a national hero. But there’s a big difference between making promises and turning them into reality. Corruption is deep-rooted, food and energy independence takes years of sustained effort, and the poor are counting on him to deliver meaningful improvements to their daily lives.

The real question is: Can Prabowo fix the roof while the house is still on fire? Or will his administration end up rearranging the furniture while the same old problems smolder underneath? One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be an interesting five years. Stay tuned.