JAKARTA, Oct 18 — Retired General Prabowo Subianto will be sworn in on Sunday (October 20) as the president of Indonesia, the world's third-biggest democracy with the largest economy in Southeast Asia.
The following is a summary of Prabowo's policy pledges:
Boosting Growth
Prabowo has set a target to accelerate economic growth to eight per cent from five per cent at the present by developing industries that process Indonesia's rich natural resources and relying on the economic impact of his flagship programmes, like giving students free school meals.
He will be open to foreign investment, like offering investors management of airports and seaports.
Prabowo, currently Defence Minister, also plans to raise funds by selling carbon credits overseas to fund green projects that will create jobs, an adviser told Reuters.
Energy and food security
Central in Prabowo's campaign pledge was to make Indonesia self-sufficient in the production of staples, as well as to cut the country's reliance on fuel imports.
In his current role as Defence Minister, he oversaw the "Food Estate" project, clearing swamps to make way for cassava planting.
This project will be expanded, creating three million hectares to cultivate rice, corn, and soybeans. That is roughly the size of Belgium.
Some of the agricultural products will be made into bioethanol.
Prabowo has also made preparations to increase the mandatory blending of palm oil-based biodiesel to 50 per cent by next year, up from currently 35 per cent, to reduce gasoil imports. Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil.
Free, nutritious school meals
Prabowo's most well-known campaign promise is the US$28 billion (RM120.5 billion) "Free Nutritious Meals" programme providing food for 83 million children and pregnant women to fight stunted child growth.
Considered by some economists as costly, the programme has sparked concerns from rating agencies and investors that the new government would move away from the prudent fiscal management seen under his predecessor.
Prabowo and his aides have pledged to manage the government's budget responsibly, defending the programme as necessary for long-term human development. The programme would be rolled out in stages starting from January 2025.
Tax policy
Prabowo has set a target to increase the government revenue-to-gross domestic product ratio to 23 per cent from about 12 per cent, promising to do so using improved technology and without raising tax rates.
During campaigning, he said he was considering setting up a new tax collection agency modelled on the United States Internal Revenue Service, but it was unclear if this would be pursued.
The former special forces commander would review the possibility of lowering corporate income tax to 20 per cent from 22 per cent, according to media reports citing his adviser, though this would depend on its impact on revenues.
It also remains to be seen whether Prabowo will raise the value-added tax rate to 12 per cent from 11 per cent on January 1, 2025, an unpopular plan that has been set in motion by the current administration.
Future of new capital city
Outgoing leader Widodo has made the US$32 billion (RM137.8 billion) project to move Indonesia's capital 1,200 km away from sinking Jakarta to Nusantara, on Borneo island, his main legacy project.
Prabowo has publicly said he would continue building the city, even as he acknowledged the project might take years to complete.
However, members of Prabowo's coalition have privately raised doubts about the capacity of the state budget to fund both the new capital and the nutrition programme, sources told Reuters.
Foreign policy
Prabowo has said his presidency will continue Jakarta's long-held foreign policy of non-alignment, promising to maintain good ties with world powers without choosing sides.
In a sign he will be more active on the global stage, Prabowo has travelled extensively since winning the election, meeting leaders from countries like Australia, China, France, Japan, Russia, and neighbouring nations in Southeast Asia.
Last year, at a gathering of security officials from many countries, Prabowo as Indonesia's defence minister proposed a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.
Months later, he took a swipe at the European Union's deforestation rules, saying Europeans forced Indonesians to cut down forests when Indonesia was a Dutch colony, in a seminar explaining his foreign policy stance.
— Reuters
