Indonesian leader vows crackdown on illegal mining and plantations; to speed up free-meal scheme

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto promised a broad crackdown on illegal mining and oil palm plantations, while accelerating his flagship free-meal programme in closely watched twin speeches on Aug 15, as he laid out his vision for South-east Asia's biggest economy.

- Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

JAKARTA —

Unveiling a 3,786.5 trillion rupiah (S$300 billion) government budget for 2026, or 7.3 per cent higher than the latest estimate for 2025 spending, he promised to continue spurring downstream industries in critical minerals such as nickel and copper — key ingredients in renewable projects — to allow Indonesia to benefit from higher export proceeds.

The budget proposal — with a deficit forecast at 2.48 per cent of gross domestic product — is based on an economic growth target of 5.4 per cent, an inflation rate at 2.5 per cent and the rupiah trading at 16,500 per US dollar on average for 2026, along with several other indicators.

Mr Prabowo, 73, in both speeches also outlined other priorities for his five-year term till 2029.

These included strengthening recently established sovereign wealth fund Danantara; providing ample financing support to farmers, fishermen and villagers through setting up 80,000 cooperatives nationwide to ensure they obtain the best prices for their produce; expanding edible crops to improve food self-sufficiency; and establishing 20 "gifted schools" for the top 1 per cent of Indonesia's students.

His State of the Nation speech in the morning was his first as the country's leader.

The budget presented later that afternoon in Parliament was the first proposal developed by Mr Prabowo's administration after he took office in October 2024. The 2025 budget was prepared by his predecessor, Mr Joko Widodo.