Prabowo Admits He Hated Elite A Lot, But Loved By The People Of The Village

Prabowo Subianto/ (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The presidential candidate who is also the General Chair of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto, admitted that many elites vilified him. But he didn't care because he felt loved by the village people.

"Many elite people slander Prabowo, the important thing is that the people of the village love Prabowo, brothers and sisters," Prabowo said in his remarks when receiving the declaration of the Main Unit of Village Cooperatives (KUD) in Jakarta, Saturday (4/11) night.

Prabowo said he was better loved by the people than to deal with negative narratives from the elites. Even so, Prabowo did not mention who the elite he was referring to.

"It's better if I am loved by the people and I am insulted by them, I have nothing to do. Better I am loyal, I am more loyal to my people in the villages," added Prabowo.

On that occasion, Prabowo received a declaration from the KUD Main Board or INKUD. Prabowo admitted that he was honored and proud of the support given.

"Today I feel very proud, I feel very grateful, and I feel very happy because I am still trusted by all of you by INKUD, the Parent of the Village Unit Cooperative," he said.

In his remarks, Prabowo said that the cooperative did not escape ridicule because it tended to be imaged as a failure. Prabowo admitted that there were indeed cooperatives that failed, but there were also cooperatives that were successful.

"But some of those who failed were exaggerated, so that all cooperative movements were wrong, wrong, and failed. There used to be ridicule that the abbreviation of the KUD stands for the Chairman of Untung. This is a narrative that was built so that we would be discouraged. So that we don't believe in ourselves, "he said.

According to Prabowo, cooperatives are part of the history of Indonesia's struggle. Cooperatives, he said, are an example of the philosophy of the broom lidi.

The cooperative philosophy is the philosophy of the broom lidi. One lition is weak, easy to break, but a hundred lidies put together cannot be broken. This is the cooperative philosophy," he said.

Furthermore, Prabowo said cooperatives must be a pillar of development. He wants cooperatives to have large companies.

My dreams are that later, big factories, large smelters, fertilizer factories will belong to cooperatives. I dream that big companies are owned by cooperatives. I dream that later our fisheries companies, our large fishing vessels, are owned by fishermen's cooperatives," he said.

In addition, Prabowo also dreams that cooperatives will run side by side with private companies and with State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).

Like other developed countries. I dream that later our economy will coexist well. The private entrepreneur please (please), the cooperative please, the SOE, please. Let's achieve prosperity together for our people," he said.