President Prabowo Links Economy to Basic Needs, Urges Business Cooperation

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto emphasized that the economy should not be separated from the most basic affairs of the people, namely food. He called the stomach problem an important foundation for nation-building. Prabowo made the statement when he received the Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Anindya Bakrie and the managers of Kadin throughout Indonesia at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Friday, July 31. According to Prabowo, nation-building is a long and difficult process. The economy cannot be separated from politics, culture, even religion. However, from all of that, he places food as the most crucial basis. "Nation-building is a big effort, where the most crucial foundation is actually the economic problem. The stomach problem is the most basic economy," said Prabowo. Prabowo said the food problem was not a new issue. He admitted that he had been talking about the people's food needs for decades because it was a matter of basic human life. "I have been talking about food problems, stomach problems, for several decades, because this is a problem of thousands of years," he said. Prabowo then touched on the achievement of food security and food self-sufficiency. According to the President, this result makes Indonesia more confident. "Alhamdulillah, food security, food self-sufficiency, beyond the expectations of many people, we can," said Prabowo. He called food self-sufficiency a tangible result. Prabowo assessed that achievement proved that Indonesia was able to guarantee the food needs of its people. "This makes us confident, we can guarantee food for the Indonesian people," he said. Prabowo said that the achievement was not an easy job. Indonesia has only returned to experiencing food self-sufficiency after decades. "This is an achievement. It is not an easy achievement. It turns out that we have just experienced food self-sufficiency only a few years ago, after decades ago," In a meeting with Kadin, Prabowo also reminded the importance of cooperation between the government elite and the business world. He said the country was successful when the elite was able to work together, not to continue to fight. According to Prabowo, food security, energy security, and economic security cannot be separated from national security.