President Prabowo Responds to AHY's Speech on Power: 'Systematic and Firm'

President Prabowo Subianto has responded to the speech by Democratic Party Chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), which stated that "power is not eternal," by calling it "systematic and firm," despite some parties interpreting it as a sharp criticism of the government. Speaking at the 25th anniversary of the Democratic Party in Jakarta on Wednesday (9/9/2026), Prabowo stated, "And you know, I don't use text, I speak from my heart. His speech was systematic and his speech was firm. Indeed, recently, some circles have assessed Mr. AHY's speech a few days ago as sharp criticism." The President emphasized that a nation that has chosen the path of democracy should be grateful for criticism and corrections from the public. "But brothers and sisters, indeed a great nation, one that has chosen the path of democracy, must be grateful for criticism and corrections," he said. Prabowo also mentioned that AHY has conveyed his and the Democratic Party's commitment to be part of his administration and work for the welfare of the Indonesian people. He praised the theme chosen by the Democratic Party for its 25th anniversary. "But what is clear is that he firmly conveyed his intention and the intention of the Democratic Party to work together with us for the people," Prabowo stated. "I am very, very pleased with the theme chosen by the Democratic Party: advancing the people's economy, upholding justice, and keeping democracy alive," he added. Previously, the Democratic Party denied that Chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono's (AHY) speech about power not being eternal was a signal of his readiness to run in the 2029 Presidential Election. Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Party's Central Executive Board, Dede Yusuf Macan Effendi, assessed that AHY's statement was part of political education for Democratic cadres regarding the principles of democracy and the limits of power tenure. "What the Democratic Party Chairman conveyed is a lesson in democracy everywhere, even throughout the world, history has also proven that power does not belong to someone forever. Because there is something called a periodization," Dede told reporters on Tuesday (8/9/2026). He explained that Indonesia's democratic system also recognizes five-year periodizations, both at the regional and central levels. Therefore, AHY's message was considered related to the cadres' responsibility to carry out the people's mandate. "So all of that is political education for Democratic cadres. So that they work according to the mandate given by the people," he said. Dede also responded to the statement by Deputy Chairman of the Golkar Party, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, who assessed that AHY gave a strong signal of readiness to become one of the contestants in the 2029 Presidential Election. "So I think it's too far-fetched to be responded to differently by the seniors," he said. According to Dede, the Democratic Party is currently still busy discussing the revision of the Election Law. Therefore, he considered discussions about the 2029 Presidential Election to be still too far off. "We are still busy dealing with the revision of the Election Law, so that matter is definitely still a long way off," he added. Information source: Liputan6