Jakarta – Responding to President Prabowo Subianto's statement on Tuesday June 23 at the closing of the 2026 Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) National Congress in Bangkalan, East Java, regarding his surprise at the anomaly of 5 percent economic growth accompanied by an increase in poverty.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) emphasised that this situation is not a coincidence or an economic mystery. On the contrary, it is a logical consequence of an extractive economic model that damages the environment and robs people of their living space.
Walhi National Executive Director Boy Jerry Even Sembiring stated that President Prabowo's surprise should be answered with the courage to dismantle the development indicators that have up until now been used as a reference. The 5 percent growth that is always exhibited each quarter is just an imaginary figure and a statistical abstraction that is disconnected from the reality of people's lives on the ground.
"The 5 percent growth rate or even an 8 percent target is imaginary in nature. This happens because Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculations only focus on capital accumulation, namely how much natural resources are extracted. Activities such as coal mining, mining expansion, nickel downstreaming and palm oil plantation expansion are often considered economic achievements. In fact, these activities ignore the sustainability of people's living space and ecosystems. For communities on the ground, growth rates have no meaning when clean water is polluted, fishing areas are narrowed, and living space is grabbed by corporations", he asserted.
Walhi believes that Prabowo's statement that the system in Indonesia is wrong and the country's wealth is flowing out is an empirical acknowledgment of the failure of the economic approach used so far. The government has always assumed that by giving the red carpet to large-scale extractive investments, prosperity will automatically trickle down to the lowest levels of society. However, in reality this assumption has proved to be a complete failure.
The facts on the ground show that the current development model has concentrated wealth in the hands of a small number of people. Society does not receive any benefits at all other than waste, ecological disasters, evictions and structural impoverishment. Large-scale industry continues to suck natural resources from villages, leaving deep and damaging impacts on communities on the ground.
"The President must stop using GDP as the only measure of the country's success. The government needs to switch to welfare indicators based on ecological justice, human rights and sovereignty of the people's living space. Don't chase imaginary numbers if what is at stake is the future of the earth and the Indonesian people", asserted Sembiring.
Therefore, Walhi is asking the president to change the direction of the Indonesian economy by stopping the obsession with achieving economic growth. In addition to this, the president must fundamentally change the direction of Indonesia's economic policy from one that has long relied on an extractive economy to an economic strategy that relies on sustainability and well-being.
This change can be realised through recognition of the rights of nature, intergenerational rights, as well as the direct strengthening of the people's economy and protection of the ecosystem. As a form of real commitment, the government must develop policies that guarantee the certainty of areas managed by the ordinary people, the right to a good and healthy environment, and full protection of natural sustainability.
For more information:
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)
Jalan Tegal Parang Utara Number 14, Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta
Email: information@walhi.or.id, Instagram: @walhi.national, x: @walhi.national, TikTok: @walhi.nasional
Mobile: (+628115501980)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Menjawab Presiden Prabowo: Kemiskinan Naik Karena Ekonomi Indonesia Dibangun Di Atas Kerusakan Lingkungan".]
