March 6, 2025
Jakarta – After weeks of public protests against government policies and large bureaucracies, President Prabowo Subianto directed his cabinet minister to launch several new populist policies. One move observer said he tried to regain public trust because the controversy hit his government.
The president guided with dozens of ministers and agent leaders in cabinet meetings and during Eid al-Fitr, discussing the latest information about several of his priorities.
The event was held behind the enclosed ceremony of the Presidential Palace Building in Jakarta, but several officials, including the first deputy interior minister, Bima Arya Sugiarto, spoke with reporters about what Prabowo told his cabinet during IFTAR.
“President [gave] Bima said Tuesday some orders related to accessible education. “He plans to [to launch] Sekolah Rakyat [People’s School] and favorite school courses, while also restoring facilities and school buildings in remote areas. ”
These two programs are often considered Prabowo’s quick victory in education. Sekolah Rakyat aims to children from impoverished families, and the favorite school curriculum is formally called Garuda School, an initiative aimed at creating schools that target high-performance students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Details about the Garuda school are still scarce, but other officials claim that Sekolah Rakyat is expected to start attracting students later this year.
“The President asked us to accelerate the program by working with the governor, director and mayor. We will determine [the locations] and develop a more detailed plan based on the president's instructions,” said Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf after an IFTAR event held on Tuesday.
He added that the future Sekolah Rakyat will be a boarding school that can accommodate students from primary, intermediate and vocational schools.
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Prior to Tuesday’s IFTAR event, Prabowo held a cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss a new plan he called “Red and White Village Cooperatives”, aiming to strengthen the village’s economy.
After Monday's meeting, each co-op will have a warehouse that can accommodate six stalls that can store or sell local produce.
The senior minister added that the program will be launched in up to 80,000 villages nationwide, funded through loans from state-owned lenders that will be paid with rural funds within three to five years.
Stress test
During the first three months of his presidency, Prabowo managed to quickly launch a number of priority programs, including a free nutritious meal program. As a January survey suggests kompas Daily.
But Prabowo has faced his first major test in the past few weeks, when his austerity measures, large cabinets and policies were seen as people's welfare against the nationwide student protests under the Indonesian gel (Dark Indonesia) movement.
The main corruption scandal involving the national energy giant Pertamina and the controversial sovereign wealth fund Danantra piled up in public censorship.
According to Deputy Minister Bima, Prabowo said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that “criticism is only fair” but his minister should not be hesitant because of his priority plan.
He went on to say that cabinet members viewed Tuesday’s meeting as part of the way Prabowo “inspires” and “consolidates” his ranks.
“[There has been] Endless mergers. No special information, but it's just [Prabowo’s] Establish a unified approach [in the cabinet]. ”
Make up for the lost ground
Political analyst Agung Baskoro said Prabowo showed a commitment to more “specific populist policies” that were with the “people's wallet”, “stomach and mind” near him, and was his way of regaining public trust after a series of scandals and unpopular policies.
His decision to let the events of the Cabinet meeting open-ended events also helps to paint a tight weaving of American political elites despite the recent controversy.
“The public believes that Ramadan month is a month of forgiveness,” Agon said. “Prabowo is using this impression that he and his minister are doing the same.”
Also read: New policy to cut overlaps of free meals
Kennedy Muslim, a researcher at Indikator Politik, Indonesia, said the president “has no choice” to speed up the rollout of his populist policies to restore public confidence in his administration.
“President Prabowo has no other way, but to adopt policies that can make him win quickly and to have an impact directly felt by the public.”
