President Prabowo Worries About Next Generation's Competitiveness Amidst Global Challenges

President Prabowo Subianto has voiced concerns regarding the resilience of the younger generation in facing the increasingly harsh inter-state competition. He questioned whether the next generation possesses the strength to confront pressures or if they are prone to giving up and complaining easily. Prabowo conveyed these sentiments during his attendance at the 50th anniversary of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, and the launch of 10 books at the Jakarta Theater on Friday, August 7. According to the President, difficulties and obstacles are crucial elements in shaping a leader. "Aggravating conditions, conditions of obstacles, precisely these conditions are what raise a leader," Prabowo stated. He assessed that individuals who have never faced hardship would struggle 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," the President remarked. He then linked this to the challenges faced by the next generation, asking, "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?" In his speech, Prabowo cited Bahlil's life journey as an example of how difficulties can shape character. Bahlil, who grew up in a modest family in Papua, shared stories of working as a bus conductor while still a student. Prabowo opined that intelligence is not solely derived from formal education. He suggested that life experiences and hardships can also cultivate a person's ability to read situations. "Intelligence, I think, is also forged by difficulties," he said. However, Prabowo also stressed 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 concluded. Source: VOI English