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Everywhere you look, the country seems to be teetering on the brink, and whether he likes it or not President Prabowo has been seen by most people as being slow to respond to the problems, if not causing the problems themselves.
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President Prabowo Subianto (left), accompanied by Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto (center) and other senior officers, pass by a contingent of Indonesian peacekeepers during a parade to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the military in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Oct. 5, 2026. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
A
s President Prabowo Subianto marks the second year of his administration today, there is actually very little for him to celebrate in terms of progress or achievements.
Everywhere you look, natural disasters, public service disruptions and economic setbacks have made the country appear to be teetering on the brink, and whether he likes it or not President Prabowo is seen by many as being slow to respond to the problems, if not causing the problems themselves through his unconventional policies.
In parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua monstrous fires have been burning peatland forests for four months, sending hazardous haze that has blanketed not only the areas where hot spots are detected but also neighboring countries like Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
For weeks now, people in Sumatra and Kalimantan have been waiting for the central government to take drastic measures to put out the fires, but judging from the poor quality air in major cities in Indonesia and that of neighboring countries, it seems that the forest fire problem is far from being contained.
Another headache for President Prabowo as he celebrated his two years in office are persistent fuel shortages that have affected many cities in the country. Pertamina has cited distribution problems as the reason behind the long lines of buyers waiting at gas stations but the fact that the biggest shortage problem was reported in Bali has shattered the image of the resort island, if not Indonesia in general, as a premium tourism destination.
There are also the frequent electricity outages, which hit the island of Batam very hard last week. Again, this is not a good look, considering that Batam is an international city built and designed to compete with its wealthy neighbor Singapore.
To cap it all, late last week and continuing through Monday, the Indonesian stock market suffered its worst rout in the last three decades, following an announcement from MSCI that it could relegate Indonesia to a "standalone" status from its current "emerging market" designation.
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