JakartaPost-Oct 21, 2024
President Prabowo Subianto promised to make Indonesia a self-sufficient country in food and energy, as part of his larger goal to build a more prosperous nation. The former defense minister took the oath of office as the eighth president with his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his vice president during a plenary session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Sunday morning. “We cannot rely on external food sources. In times of crisis, in times of emergency, no one will allow us to buy their goods. Therefore, there is no other option but to achieve food security as soon as possible,” Prabowo said in a fiery, hour-long speech. Prabowo said the nation must be able to enjoy the fruits of its own resources. “We must always realize that a free nation is where the people are free. They must be free from fear, poverty, hunger, ignorance, oppression, suffering,” he said. Marthin Hadiwinata of food rights advocacy group the FIAN Indonesia said, however, there remained a lot of holes in Prabowo’s plan, such as the lack of an agenda to “recognize and protect food producers” through agrarian reform or economic protection support. Usman Hamid of Amnesty International Indonesia also reminded Prabowo’s incoming government about the need to protect basic human rights in development projects, noting that rights violations were frequently the price paid for Jokowi’s infrastructure policies. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2024/10/21/prabowo-pledges-self-reliant-future.html.
