Reading Prabowo's Message to Critics

It is impossible to have democracy without criticism (Kwant, 1962). This is one of the theories about criticism written by RC Kwant in his book "Mens en Kritiek". Criticism and democracy are like two inseparable things. This is because criticism in democracy is a manifestation of the people's sovereignty.

No exception in Indonesia, a country that adheres to a democratic system. Criticism is something unavoidable for every regime. Including President Prabowo Subianto who was just inaugurated on October 20, 2024.

Prabowo even delivered a message to his critics during his speech at the peak celebration of the 17th Anniversary of the Gerindra Party at the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC), West Java, Saturday (15/2/2025). Prabowo emphasized that the government must be willing to accept criticism, but it should be proper criticism and not based on resentment.

"We (the government coalition parties) must be willing to be monitored. We must be willing to be corrected. We must be willing to be criticized. However, the criticism should be proper, not based on revenge," said Prabowo.

Who defines the truth? In fact, truth is philosophically debated first among several parties before it is formulated as to what is right for the common good.

The statement was made when several presidential policies received criticism from the public. The criticisms raised include, among others, the bloated cabinet, the 12 percent VAT policy, the trade system of 3-kilogram LPG, the involvement of the military in several civil positions, and budget efficiency. So, how should Prabowo's message to his critics be interpreted?

The Head of the Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, stated that criticism and input can still be expressed in Indonesia. The public remains free to voice their opinions. Demonstrations are also not prohibited as long as they do not disrupt or damage public facilities.

"So far, no one has criticized and then suddenly reported it (to the authorities), right? The media that wrote quite harshly were also allowed to do so even though the President knew that some of it was made up," said Hasan when contacted on Monday (2/17/2025).

On the contrary, according to Hasan, President Prabowo listens to all criticisms and suggestions conveyed, especially those related to the fate of the community. Therefore, generally, many suggestions are then considered and made into decisions.

He gave an example, the change in the implementation of the 12 percent Value Added Tax (PPn) occurred because of listening to public criticism and input. "By law, everything should just go up. But there was a lot of input and suggestions so that the President finally decided to only apply it to luxury goods," said Hasan.

In addition, the budget efficiency policy implemented by the President has received a lot of criticism and input because many public service budgets have been cut. Therefore, it was then reaffirmed that efficiency is not applied to public services, salaries, and social assistance but to capital expenditures.

"Although the principle of efficiency is needed, if it concerns the fate of many people, he will definitely think about it. Therefore, we also dare to ensure that tuition fees, operational costs of higher education, scholarships, KIP college will definitely not be reduced (in the budget)," said Hasan.

The various criticisms and inputs received by the President came from various parties. In addition to cabinet members and his aides, the President also monitored the mass media and social media.

However, some criticisms were not accepted. The push to cancel free nutritious meals was said to encourage the President to break his campaign promise. "That is an agenda, a work program, and has been thought about since 2014. The issue of (closing) leaks (of the budget) has also been since 2014 and today we are combing through where the leaks are coming from. Spending only on essentials," said Hasan.

Budget efficiency is a policy trend in many countries. Budget cuts in Indonesia are considered not as radical as in the United States or Argentina, which laid off many government employees. Moreover, President Prabowo continues to listen to public criticism and input in implementing his policies.

Researcher at the Center for Political Research of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Wasisto Raharjo Jati, assessed that Prabowo's statement was made in response to various criticisms of his government. This is because the criticisms leveled at Prabowo are sometimes subjective due to disinformation and misinformation. "As a result, the essence of the criticism is more pejorative than constructive," he said.

Furthermore, Wasisto said, Prabowo is one of the presidents who is open to criticism. This can be seen from a number of policies that were revised after receiving public criticism, such as 12 percent VAT and the 3-kilogram LPG trade.

However, Prabowo is expected to improve the climate of freedom of speech in Indonesia which has declined significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Some critics have actually experienced doxing and have their critical content uploaded.

"This is certainly a kind of reflection now, whether Prabowo's statement is indeed a concrete step towards opening up freedom of speech or the opposite, just a symbolic step. Given that there has not been any kind of concrete step to guarantee freedom of speech in the future," said Wasisto.

In addition, Prabowo's commitment to be open to criticism should ideally be followed by efforts to evaluate various acts of silencing and taking action against critics that occurred in previous eras. One of them is through the creation of inclusive regulations and revising rubber articles in the Electronic Information and Transactions Law that have the potential to silence the public voice.

Political Science Lecturer at Airlangga University, Airlangga Pribadi, admitted that during the 100 days of President Prabowo's administration, the government seemed to respond to several public complaints. However, this also shows that the government is not yet solid and stable with its policies.

In addition, this response seems reasonable because it wants to build strong legitimacy from the community, especially the lower middle class. The problem is, whether the government will guarantee that it will remain responsive in the future.

"It is possible that when public trust and legitimacy are formed, the government will no longer respond (to public complaints and input). Therefore, this must be anticipated by maintaining the critical power of civil society," said Airlangga.

From the speech of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, at the celebration of Gerindra's 17th anniversary, it was also conveyed regarding Prabowo's increasing accumulation of power.

When gaining strong trust, Airlangga continued, there is a tendency for the government to become increasingly unresponsive. In addition, Prabowo's speech saying "ready to be criticized, as long as it is right" also needs to be watched out for.

"Who defines truth? In fact, truth is philosophically debated first among several parties, before what is true for the common good is formulated," said Airlangga.

The condition in the sentence "ready to be criticized, as long as it is right" can nullify the willingness to be criticized. It is as if there is a condition of 'right' with truth defined by the state. This is no different from the New Order era, "Criticism is allowed, as long as it is polite. Criticism is allowed, as long as it provides solutions" and in the end criticism becomes difficult to do.

However, according to Airlangga, President Prabowo Subianto was able to show the sincerity of his statement on Gerindra's 17th anniversary by consistently accepting criticism and input.

"Freedom of opinion in providing corrections must also be maintained, not limited, as long as it does not lead to hate speech or insults to others. Time will prove (President Prabowo's statement)," said Airlangga.