Responding to the President's State of the Nation address today at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) annual session, Amnesty International Indonesia's (AII) Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
"The president's speech lacked any resolution for past gross human rights violations or defence reform. Yet, these are crucial national agendas amidst rampant authoritarian practices and global geostrategic tensions. The military's involvement in domestic civilian affairs has fuelled new problems, such as agrarian conflicts, land disputes and violence, and has distanced the military from developing a modern defence posture.
It was very ironic when the president presented a choice between Indonesia having sophisticated aircraft or the people not being able to eat. Amid global political and economic tensions, both options should be equally important. This choice is also paradoxical, given the fact that 95 percent of our marine resources are taken by foreign vessels. Based on this fact, the President should have explained the modernisation of the military and its main weapons systems. We need modern defence equipment, not dragging the military into domestic civilian affairs?
This irony is the same thing as the government's claim that it has succeeded in providing food for children thanks to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program. What about the other children who have been poisoned? Why did the President's speech lack in respect for the right to health regarding forty thousand children and their teachers who were victims of MBG poisoning, as recorded by the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI)? The scale of these cases is a serious warning to stop policies that result in people becoming victims.
Another irony lies in the Red and White Village Cooperatives (Kopdes) and Red and White Fisher's Village policies. The President did not address the deaths of five people during military training for prospective Kopdes and Red and White Fisherman's Village managers. Was there a legal process behind the deaths of these five people? This demonstrates the President's lack of concern for citizens' rights to life. The deaths of these five people during military training demonstrate the serious problem of military involvement in the civilian sphere. The President must stop the militarisation of civilian space.
The President outlined claims of economic achievements but failed to address the difficulty citizens have in expressing their opinions or voicing their concerns about employment, the economy and education, which are instead restricted by criminalisation and intimidation. Officials who violate human rights seem to be allowed to go unpunished, as in the case of the recent acid attack on human rights defender Andrie Yunus.
In the area of law enforcement, the President boasts that the Supreme Court has successfully ruled on 37,973 cases throughout 2025, but he overlooks the rampant criminalisation of civilians. In recent years, the President has forgotten that state officials remain the primary perpetrators of violence, extrajudicial killings and the theft of indigenous people's living space for the sake of development.
To this day, citizens are still restricted, even from uploading and commenting on the President's recent speech on Iran's nuclear program. The lack of mention of criminalisation is tantamount to the President endorsing anti-human rights practices.
In the education sector, the President also boasted about the construction and renovation of schools without addressing the welfare of honorary teachers, who still face uncertain employment status and incomes that are far from adequate. Yet, the fulfillment of the right to education is determined not only by the physical construction of schools, but also by respect for the rights of educators, the backbone of the national education system.
At the same time, the MBG program also raises questions about the fulfillment of the right to education. A hearing at the Constitutional Court on July 30 revealed that the implementation of the MBG program impacted the allocation of the education budget in the State Budget. However, the President's speech did not explain how the government would ensure that the implementation of this priority program does not compromise the fulfillment of citizens' right to education.
The President boasted of 5.61 percent economic growth, but did not explain the paradox facing society today: amid claims of economic success, budget austerity policies have the potential to reduce the state's ability to fulfill citizens' basic rights. The public has a right to know how the government will guarantee their rights to health, education, decent work and access to justice when public services and institutions that support human rights protection face resource constraints.
The success of development is not only measured by rising growth rates, but also by the extent to which the state is able to ensure that everyone can enjoy their rights equally and with dignity.
The President's State of the Nation address should be an opportunity to acknowledge the human rights challenges Indonesia still faces and outline concrete steps to address them. When human rights issues of public concern do not receive adequate attention, the public has the right to question the extent of the government's commitment to protecting the basic rights of all citizens."
Background
President Prabowo Subianto delivered two speeches today (August 14) at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta. At the first session in the morning, the President delivered a State of the Nation address. Then, in the afternoon, the President delivered a speech on the Financial Note and the 2027 Draft State Budget.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Pidato Presiden nihil militerisme dan pelanggaran HAM".]
