Prabowo touts Indonesia’s economic growth and investment gains in State of the Nation address

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — President Prabowo Subianto on Friday touted Indonesia’s strongest first-half economic growth in more than a decade, saying the country could achieve 6% growth by the end of this year despite global uncertainty, while stressing that economic expansion must translate into jobs and higher living standards.

In his annual State of the Nation address before members of the Parliament in the capital Jakarta, Prabowo said Southeast Asia’s largest economy grew 5.61% in the first quarter this year and 5.45% in the first half of the year.

“This is the highest first-quarter and first-semester growth in the last 13 years,” Prabowo said in the fiery, televised speech. “With the right policies, rational policies and policies based on common sense, I am confident our economic growth can reach 6% by the end of this year.”

But Prabowo said economic growth and rising investment were not goals in themselves, arguing their success should be measured by whether they improved the lives of ordinary Indonesians.

“For me, growth and investment are not the final goal. Our goal is the welfare of our people,” Prabowo said. “High growth that cannot be enjoyed by most of our people is of no benefit to us.”

Ahead of Indonesia’s 81st Independence Day celebrations on Monday, he said every rupiah of investment should create jobs and improve living standards, particularly for lower-income Indonesians, by generating employment opportunities and expanding access to basic services and government assistance.

As evidence, Prabowo said investment remained strong despite global economic uncertainty. Realized investment reached 1,931 trillion rupiah ($108 billion) last year, creating more than 2.7 million jobs, while investment totaled 1,010 trillion rupiah ($56.7 billion) in the first half of this year and generated more than 1.4 million additional jobs.

Prabowo also pointed to several of his administration’s flagship programs that he said were delivering direct benefits to Indonesians, including the Free Nutritious Meals program , social assistance schemes and policies aimed at increasing domestic processing of the country’s natural resources.

“Our promise of nutritious meals, social assistance and down-streaming (processing) is no longer merely a plan on paper,” he said. “It is already underway, and the people are feeling the benefits.”

The Free Nutritious Meals program, launched last year to combat malnutrition, aims to provide meals to nearly 90 million schoolchildren and pregnant women and has become one of Prabowo’s signature policies. The government says the program is intended to improve nutrition while creating demand for local agricultural products and supporting jobs across the food supply chain.

However, the program has faced growing scrutiny after food-poisoning incidents affecting thousands of students across the country.

On Thursday, about 269 students from three high schools in North Sumatra’s Karo regency reportedly suffered suspected food poisoning after consuming meals provided under the program.

Some economists questioned whether the government’s growth figures reflected conditions facing many Indonesians.

Nailul Huda, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies, or Celios, said slowing household consumption, rising layoffs and difficulties finding work suggested the benefits of growth were not being broadly shared.

Weakening consumer confidence and concerns about the labor market indicated a disconnect between headline economic growth and the realities faced by many households, particularly poorer Indonesians, he said.

“The government always claims the economy is growing strongly, but lower-income communities do not feel it,” Huda said.