TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto wants Indonesia to achieve energy self-sufficiency. He is optimistic that Indonesia will no longer need to import fuel in the future.
"We don't want to be a servant to other nations. If they want to, they can. I don't want to," said Prabowo during his speech at the halal-bi-halal event of the Indonesian Army Retirees Association at Balai Kartini, Jakarta, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
Regarding his stance, Prabowo also blamed several of his mentors in the TNI such as former Vice President Try Sutrisno, Presidential Special Advisor for Political and Security Affairs Wiranto, and Chairman of the National Economic Council Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
"This is the mistake of my mentors who educated me. Mr. Tri, Mr. Agung (Agung Gumelar). These are the brothers who instilled that spirit, not to bow down to other nations," said Prabowo.
On this occasion, Prabowo also mentioned that the TNI is always accused of being a dictator, whereas the TNI has played a role in the success of the reformation.
As the former commander of the Army's Special Forces, Prabowo initially did not accept the accusation against the TNI of being a dictator while leading a country. According to him, in world history, no army has withdrawn from politics. However, the TNI withdrew from the 1998 reformation movement. "We are willing to step back," said Prabowo.
The 1998 Reformation Movement was the culmination of various demonstrations by students and the public demanding change in Indonesia at the end of the New Order regime. The movement successfully forced Soeharto to resign from the presidency on May 21, 1998. The demands of the 1998 reformation movement include eradicating corruption, collusion, nepotism (KKN), and eliminating the dual function of the ABRI, which is the military's dual role in the government.
As the reformation unfolded, Prabowo served as the Commander of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad). Through the Tim Mawar (Rose Team) - a special team formed by members of Kopassus in July 1997 - the son-in-law of President Suharto was accused of involvement in the abduction of activists at that time.
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