Prabowo Brings The Receipts: Mixed Economy, School Meals, Fishing Villages, and A Hard Line on Law to Power 8 Percent Growth
Key Takeaways
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JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — President Prabowo Subianto lays out how Indonesia lifts growth toward 8 percent with a blend of market dynamism and social protection at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2025, arguing that school meals at national scale, empowered village cooperatives, modernized fisheries, state enterprise reform, and strict law enforcement work together to expand domestic demand and restore fairness.
In a conversation with Steve Forbes, Prabowo anchored his economics in lived experience and an explicit synthesis. “I asked so father what is the best economic system according to you father and he said actually the best economic system for us for Indonesia must be a mixed economic system. It must be we must take the best of capitalism and the best of socialism.”
He said Indonesia should apply what works, not ideological purity, and focus on outcomes for families, farmers, and workers.
He described how years on the campaign trail exposed him to stunting and hunger, shaping the Free Nutritious Meal program, known nationally as Makan Bergizi Gratis. “I saw directly and physically I saw stunting I saw malnutrition I saw poverty in my eyes.” He contrasted that reality with the ambition of the new system and put hard numbers on its daily reach. “We are feeding today 35.4 million mouths. So we are feeding seven Singapores every day.”
Prabowo said 11,900 kitchens had been established as of the day of his remarks and that money flows straight to kitchens under clear standards to avoid bureaucratic delays. He added that the government intensified safety and quality control to push incidents toward zero: “We increased our oversight SOPs. We are now buying new equipment, filters for the water, test kits for the food, modern equipment to heat the water, to heat the trays.”
Prabowo argued the program is also an engine for local supply chains. Daily menus translate into orders for eggs, vegetables, chicken, and fish that farmers and fishers can bank on, encouraging new ponds and higher yields.
He cited external validation: “They said that every $1 spent in the free meal program the return on the $1 is between 5 to $37.” He linked kitchens to a logistics backbone of village cooperatives he said now covers the country with warehouses, cold storage, small clinics, pharmacies, and trucks to move goods so that harvests no longer rot before reaching buyers.
He said the same local-first ethos is transforming coastal livelihoods. Pilots have added basics that had been missing for decades: jetties, ice-making, cold rooms, auctions, and reliable power. The reported income effect surprised him. “Their earning increased up to 100%.”
The plan now is replication at scale. “We are going to build at least 1,000 of these villages all over Indonesia.” He said the initiative aims to empower roughly two million fishers, or about eight million Indonesians when families are included, while raising national protein supply.
On jobs and growth, Prabowo tied micro interventions to macro momentum. A fully built kitchen network, he said, is a large direct employer and a catalyst for small firms. “We are creating directly 1.5 million jobs.” Each kitchen, he added, spawns a ring of local suppliers employing five to fifteen workers apiece as daily food orders ripple through farms, ponds, workshops, and transport.
He paired domestic demand with external openness, highlighting new trade pacts and integration into major economic frameworks. He said Indonesia had reached a comprehensive pact with the European Union and signed with Canada, and was deepening Asia Pacific ties while pursuing OECD accession.
Trade frictions elsewhere, he said, are a wakeup call to become leaner and more competitive at home rather than to retreat from global markets.
Natural resources remain part of the investment story, he added, from critical minerals such as nickel and bauxite to oil and gas where enhanced recovery at older wells can rebuild capacity. But he emphasized that the backbone is a consumer market of nearly 300 million people gaining purchasing power as poverty falls and productivity rises.
He said reform of state-owned enterprises sits at the heart of capital reallocation. Danantara Sovereign Wealth Fund, he noted, has been directed to reduce a sprawling portfolio and lift returns by applying international standards and recruiting the best talent wherever it resides.
“I told Danantara management to run it on an international business standards. You can look for the best brains, best talents. And I’ve changed the regulations. Now, expatriots, non-Indonesians can be leading our SOE.”
Prabowo framed governance as decisive action, not slogans. He recounted setting a personal bar on conflicts of interest while serving as defense minister. “Listen, I’m the minister of defense. You guys cannot go into Minister of Defense for any defense contract, right? Understand that.”
When relatives later appeared on shortlists, he said he acted. “I wrote off all my family.” He then described enforcement campaigns targeting smuggling and illegal concessions.
Around Bangka and Belitung, he said, authorities imposed a maritime cordon. “We just block these two islands.” Seizures followed and revenues recovered, he said, while dormant court rulings in the plantation sector were finally executed. The principle, he said, is non-negotiable. “The law is the law. Regulations are regulations. Those who violate the law will have to deal with the law.”
He closed with cautious optimism after fast travel to Egypt for peace discussions, saying that recent steps offered a chance to turn the page if momentum holds. “There was a sense that we are at a historic opportunity.”
He reiterated Indonesia’s readiness to help stabilize the situation. “Indonesia is still willing to be part of that if they need peacekeeping troops. We are willing to provide peacekeeping troops.”
The President leavened the policy talk with dry humor about academic prestige, using it to break the ice with foreign audiences. “Actually I went to Oxford… No no no actually I went to the bookstore in Oxford.”
He said the same line worked on Ivy Leaguers. “No no I went to the bookstore in Harvard.” The levity, he suggested, underscores that Indonesia’s new confidence will be measured not in pedigree but in execution.