By: Yanto Soegiarto, Senior journalist*
Editor’s Note: This rare interview with Prabowo Subianto was conducted at his office in 2008. Since then until now it reflects the consistency of his idealism, views and dedication to serve the people and nation to bring about economic growth, prosperity and welfare. Photo is exclusively owned by GlobeASia photographer M. Defrizal.
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RETIRED Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto has always been a leader. As a soldier, he headed the Kopassus Special Forces regiment and the army’s Strategic Military Command, Kostrad. As a civilian he has transformed himself into a businessman, controlling stakes in Indonesia as well as abroad in commodities ranging from pulp, crude palm oil, coal and oil.
Now he is a rising politician backed by Gerindra, a new and potentially powerful political party. In mid-October, he was nominated by the party as its presidential candidate for next year’s elections.
“It’s leadership that’s important. And when it comes to the nation and people, it’s how to overcome the current crisis,” Prabowo said, referring to the global economic meltdown in his first exclusive interview in years. Prabowo appears to have mellowed over the years, calm and measured but still showing the leadership of a soldier with a very strong character.
“I am happy with my quality of life as a civilian. But when it comes to the nation and its people, I can still be called to duty,” he replies to a question on his political ambitions. He is beginning to emerge as a serious challenger: According to a survey conducted by the National Leadership Center in cooperation with London-based Taylor Nelson Sofress (TNS), Prabowo ranks third in popularity for next year’s presidential elections, trailing former President Megawati Sukarnoputri (26%) and incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (34%).
The poll also shows how fast Prabowo is closing the gap. It showed his popularity at 15%, up from 11% in July.
People-focused policies
The former general is presenting astrongly different image of what Indonesia should be, arguing that the country has followed the wrong philosophy for the past 15 to 20 years, especially in economic policy. The capitalistic model of development, laissez faire, loose regulations with policies that favor big companies and inadequate attention to the poor, has let Indonesia down, he believes.
“I think we are even more capitalistic than America in many aspects. I think our strategy has been wrong, which is being proven now,” he says. “If I had said this one or two years ago, people would have said I was a radical but history has proven I was right. “I have been talking like this for the past 15 years. I have been warning that this neo-liberal, laissez faire capitalist system cannot bring lasting prosperity. It only benefits a small group. This is proven in the US. “The present Bush government is very conservative and capitalist in philosophy, and yet they have been forced to intervene massively to protect the American people,” he says.
Different principles
Prabowo strongly favors Indonesia adopting economic policies based on a “people’s economy” with an emphasis on economic self-sufficiency, food sufficiency and energy sufficiency. He says these goals remain elusive because Indonesian leaders have no comprehensive understanding of economics, especially regarding developing economies. They have failed to follow India or China and, because of the triumph of the West in the cold war, the capitalist system has been adopted as the best system while anything that smelled like socialism became something distasteful, he believes.
Prabowo believes the government should play a greater role in the economy, especially in strategic sectors like food and energy. He wants state-owned companies to be run by world-class professionals, citing the success of Temasek in Singapore, which is state owned and run by professionals and has become a locomotive for growth.
“I don’t believe in privatization. It is not a magic bullet or panacea to solve problems,” he says. “I look to the models in Singapore, India and China where state-owned companies play a significant role in growth. Why do we have to privatize? Why should we sell off our own cash cows?”
Prabowo says he is not against capitalism which, he concedes, has positive aspects including the right to private property, the right of individuals to prosper, creativity and freedom of movement. But, he says, these freedoms should not be allowed to run without proper checks and balances.
“We are all capitalists in some aspects but we have social responsibility and national obligations. We have room for private companies, conglomerates, state-owned companies but we must also have space for cooperatives and small enterprises. And all must be run by a good system of checks and balances,” he says.
“What’s happening in the world is proving my point. The Indonesian elite have no character and suffer from an inferiority complex. “If they see the West they want to follow and emulate blindly. What America tells us our elite will follow. Maybe this character has been formed because we were colonialized in the past,” he adds.
But, says Prabowo, there are alternatives. “Lee Kuan Yew had his own ideas, Mahathir and Nehru had a philosophy of protecting the masses.”
Opportunity knocks
Prabowo’s stance, which has become the ideology of the Gerindra Party, is not all about scepticism and criticism. He also sees a window of opportunity for Indonesia over the next 10 years. Unlike China’s land reform, the Indonesian perspective is that the country should immediately solve the problem of the population explosion, which means smaller plots of land and could leave farmers landless.
“It’s disastrous. Any new government or leaders must put in place a strong and comprehensive family planning program. One and a half percent growth means three million new mouths to feed. It could be a Malthusian nightmare,” says Prabowo.
A new leader, he insists, must also focus on the environment at a time when large areas of the capital, Jakarta, are threatened with inundation by seawater because of excessive groundwater use and sinking land levels.
“It’s tough but we must make a concerted effort and take action,” he insists. Asked when he will officially declare his intention to run as a presidential candidate, Prabowo says he is waiting for signs of support. “If there is really significant support that shows I am needed by this country and the people, yes, I have to offer myself for this service. This is my position. “This is how I was brought up, my whole education as a citizen and patriot is to serve the people and country. But I’m not chasing after the job. “I’m satisfied with my quality of life, I like my freedom, I can do what I want. But if the country is in difficulty and the people need me I have to offer myself to serve.”
Prabowo says that as chairman of the powerful Indonesian Farmers Union (HKTI) he has been pressured by farmers, fisherman and the rural community to run as president. They believe they have been left behind by the elite and feel marginalized. “This is why we are contesting the parliamentary elections,” he says. “If I run for the presidency while I only have 1% support, that would mean – GR or gede rumongso – which means overconfident in Javanese.”
Prabowo says that his military training taught him the value of strategy and assessment of strengths, both your own and that of an opponent. “We must make the calculations. There is still a double digit difference between me and the number one,” he says, referring to the latest poll results.
“I am half Javanese and was brought up in an environment where Javanese values dominate. In the philosophy of a ksatria (warrior), we are not supposed to ask for position and power. The Javanese have a saying, sepi ing pamrih rame ing gawe, which means we must avoid looking for rewards and concentrate on our contribution (to society),” he says.
Different influences
Asked if his military background would have an effect on a run for office, Prabowo says he does not believe it is a critical issue. “What’s the big deal? Whether you are from a military background or not? We’re all civilians. John McCain, JFK served in the military. George W. Bush was in the National Guard. Dwight Eisenhower, Truman served in the military”.
“You have good soldiers, bad soldiers, good economics professors, there are bad ones – we must not make too much of it. It’s the man.”
He admits that careers do create influences, but stresses that, as a general, he supported Indonesia’s reform process. “We all wanted Indonesia to become a modern, rational democratic society, The only argument was how fast and the way to do it. Do we strive for all the positive elements of democracy but leave our people poor or achieve a minimum amount of economic well-being? “The elite always blindly follow what the West tells us to do and go as fast as possible.”
Prabowo says he has always wondered why Indonesia failed to look more closely at the Singaporean model of democracy and other forms of development.
“What comes first? Minimum levels of economic well-being, jobs, free schools, hospitals, low-cost housing or freedom of speech, freedom of expression, hundreds of magazines, newspapers or hundreds of political parties? Which one first? “Many of our elite are all struck by the advances of the West. The chattering class, it’s always the flight of the elite that make poor people suffer,” he says.
Prabowo acknowledges that the immediate future could be a difficult time for Indonesia. The global crisis will have an impact on Indonesia and the region. “We will be affected as an exporter, with a slowdown in commodities as the US economy slows down, China too. Palm oil prices will be down, cocoa, rubber, the tire industry will be affected too, no doubt,” he says.
His own business interests, at Nusantara Energy, a holding company for interests in coal, forestry and pulp, are already feeling the impact, he says.
“I don’t know whether the peak is here – it depends on how we navigate the coming months and year,” he says
As well as counting the numbers at his businesses, he is also busy calculating his political strength.
His Gerindra party has followers in all regencies and 80% of the nation’s districts, with 4 million registered members, a number that keeps increasing.
“We have created a different identity, a critical voice against laissez faire capitalism,” he says, explaining the appeal of the party. “We will go back to the 1945 Constitution’s philosophy. We have created a brand image among the masses: the poor, the farmers, fishermen.”
Political analyst Hendrajit agrees that Prabowo is developing a following. The former general has prepared well, and his vision of creating an economic platform to turn Indonesia into an Asian Tiger while focusing on the grassroots economy is attractive.
“He has a strong bargaining chip,” he says. Pollster and analyst Sukardi Rinakit would like to see more clarity: he says that if Prabowo’s emergence on the political scene is meant merely as an introduction, then he still has plenty of time to prove himself.
“If it is a declaration, then he has already established himself as someone who has to be counted,” he says.
As for the stormy history of the fall of President Suharto – Prabowo’s former father-in-law – and his subsequent drumming out of the military, he says he holds no grudges. He admits he disagrees with comments in a book released in 2006 by former President BJ Habibie.
“I tried to meet him but he won’t receive me. He accused me of some things in his book. I have denied them. I want to meet him in a civilized, mature way. “I don’t know where he got such notions. If you have no problems, if you have peace with yourself you can meet anybody. “Somebody had hallucinations. Now I’ve lost a lot of respect for Pak Habibie. It’s been two years.” But, he said, “it’s you who asked the question. I have no grudges against him.”
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*About the writer:
Yanto Soegiarto
- Senior journalist. Former Editor-in-chief Indonesian Observer newspaper, Head of Content astaga.com, News Director RCTI, Managing Editor GlobeAsia Magazine and columnist Jakarta Globe newspaper.
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