Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said on Friday his country faced problems but his administration had started to resolve some of those and he believed economic growth of 6 per cent could be achieved this year.
In remarks during his Independence Day speech at a time of falling approval ratings and growing investor scepticism over his ambitious policies and plans to control commodities exports, Prabowo acknowledged Indonesia had encountered issues, but said those were on the way to being addressed.
“I cannot yet say that all the nation’s problems have been resolved, or that every promise I made has been fulfilled. Not yet,” he told parliament.
The former special forces commander took office in October 2024 after a sweeping election victory built on promises to root out corruption, lift economic growth from 5 per cent to 8 per cent and give free meals to millions of children.
But his administration has struggled this year with a depreciating rupiah and a poorly performing stock market, as well as concerns over government overspending and central bank independence, while his flagship free meals programme has been hit by budget cuts and allegations of mismanagement.
However, he said investment in Indonesia would continue to grow, helping to create jobs, and gross domestic product growth could reach 6 per cent by the end of the year.