By: Freddy Bastian *(
Indonesia’s new leadership under elected President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka brings new hope for more inclusive and sustainable economic development. The pair have set an ambitious target to take Indonesia to an 8% economic growth rate within two to three years of their tenure. This vision is not impossible if accompanied by the right strategy.
Prabowo Subianto, during the campaign and after being elected, often emphasized optimism that Indonesia would be able to achieve economic growth of up to 8%. According to him, with abundant natural resources and large economic potential, Indonesia can move the economy faster than the stable average economic growth rate of around 5% over the last decade.
This optimism is also believed by a number of parties, including the Chair of the DPR RI Bilateral Cooperation Group (GKSB), Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono or Ibas. During a working visit before members of the Uzbek parliament, Ibas said that the next Indonesian government under the leadership of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka would continue to encourage inclusive and sustainable development. Ibas believes that the new government will focus on equitable economic growth, while ensuring that all elements of society benefit and maintain a healthy, intelligent and prosperous environment for future generations.
This economic growth was also agreed upon by the Budget Body (Banggar) of the House of Representatives (DPR) through macroeconomic assumptions in the Draft State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (RAPBN) 2025. Chairman of the DPR RI Banggar, Said Abdullah, said that the government would make policy and program efforts to achieve inclusive, quality and sustainable economic growth, by maintaining people’s purchasing power, increasing people’s income.
Then, create jobs, improve the quality of government spending, strengthen and expand downstreaming, sharpen policies for providing fiscal incentives to encourage investment, and accelerate economic transformation for productivity, competitiveness and strengthening national strategic industries.
For starters, Prabowo is targeting economic growth of 5.5% in the first year of his leadership. This target can be achieved through downstream industrial policies, especially in the agricultural and energy sectors. One realistic concrete step is to shift from dependence on imported diesel to using biofuel produced from palm oil. This step will certainly strengthen the national economy and reduce Indonesia’s dependence on imported fuel.
The economic growth target of 8% is not impossible, but it requires greater efforts and revolutionary policy changes. One of the biggest challenges faced is ensuring that this target can be achieved within a realistic time period, considering fluctuating global economic conditions and domestic challenges, such as bureaucratic reform and the low quality of Human Resources (HR).
Human resource development is the main pillar in driving sustainable economic growth. Without improving the quality of human resources, high economic growth will be difficult to achieve. Therefore, there needs to be a commitment to accelerate human resource development, especially through increasing access to education and vocational training which can produce ready-to-use workers in strategic sectors such as manufacturing and technology.
Not only that, downstream policy is one of the main pillars in Prabowo-Gibran’s economic strategy. Downstreaming means processing domestic raw materials into more value-added products before exporting. In this way, Indonesia can obtain greater economic benefits from its natural resources, especially in the agricultural and energy sectors. Downstreaming agriculture and food aims to increase productivity, ensure food security, and open new jobs.
One of Prabowo and Gibran’s big visions is to create an inclusive economy, where every level of society can feel the benefits of economic growth. Gibran, who has a background as Mayor of Solo and is close to the people, really understands the importance of empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are the backbone of the Indonesian economy, absorbing most of the workforce and producing many domestic products.
During their leadership, Prabowo and Gibran plan to provide more support to SMEs, both in terms of capital, technology and market access. This support will not only help SMEs develop, but also create much-needed new jobs amidst high unemployment rates, especially among the younger generation.
Prabowo-Gibran’s success in achieving this economic growth target will depend heavily on the implementation of appropriate and consistent policies. If all the plans that have been prepared can be realized well, Indonesia can get out of the middle income trap and move towards a developed country with a more inclusive, sustainable and just economy.
Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka offer a big vision to bring Indonesia towards inclusive and sustainable economic growth. By focusing on industrial downstreaming, green energy transition, HR empowerment, and bureaucratic reform, they are optimistic that they can achieve the economic growth target of 8% in the next few years. Even though they face big challenges, the enthusiasm and commitment of both of them is a new hope for a better future for the Indonesian economy.
*(The author is a regional economic analyst in Jakarta
