Prabowo Expresses Concern Over Youth Resilience Amidst Global Competition

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto has voiced concerns over the resilience of Indonesia's younger generation in facing increasingly harsh inter-state competition. He questioned whether the next generation is strong enough to withstand pressure or if they will easily give up and complain. Prabowo conveyed this sentiment while attending the 50th anniversary celebration of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia, which also marked the launch of 10 books, held at the Jakarta Theater on Friday, August 7. According to Prabowo, difficulties and obstacles are integral to shaping a leader. "Aggravating conditions, conditions of obstacles, these are precisely the conditions that raise a leader," he stated. He assessed that individuals who have never faced hardship will find it difficult to be forged into strong leaders. "Leadership cannot be given as a gift. Leadership is obtained through hard work, through attitude, through the values that exist in a person," Prabowo elaborated. Prabowo then linked these challenges to the future generations. "Will the generations of our successors now be strong enough to face the increasingly fierce competition between nations, or will they easily give up, easily complain, easily ask for help?" he posed. During his speech, Prabowo cited Bahlil's life journey as an example of how adversity shapes character. Bahlil, who grew up in a humble family in Papua, shared anecdotes of working as a bus conductor while still a student. Prabowo believes that intelligence is not solely derived from formal education. He posited that life experiences and hardships also contribute to a person's ability to read situations. "Intelligence, I think, is also forged by difficulties," he remarked. However, Prabowo cautioned that courage alone is insufficient for leadership. Courage must be accompanied by values of goodness, virtue, and empathy. "Brave without virtue will emerge as a leader, but perhaps a leader who is not careful, a leader who is not wise, a leader who ends up harming those he leads," he warned. Source: VOI English