President Inaugurates Marsinah Museum, Alluding to Workers Who Were Silenced by Power

NGANJUK - President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the Marsinah Museum and a resting house in Nganjuk, East Java, Saturday, May 16, 2026. In that place, Prabowo emphasized that Marsinah's struggle must not stop as a historical memory.

Prabowo called Marsinah a symbol of the courage of female workers who fight for workers' rights. He assessed that Marsinah's murder was a tragedy that should not have happened if the Pancasila values were really implemented.

"The Marsinah incident, which was brutally killed for fighting for factory workers, actually did not need to happen at all," said Prabowo in his speech.

According to Prabowo, this country was founded on the basis of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Therefore, the fifth precept on social justice must not stop as a text. The state is obliged to defend weak groups, including workers, farmers, fishermen, and poor citizens.

He said, the Marsinah Museum became a symbol of their struggle who had no power. Not only factory workers, but all citizens who often lose when faced with the power of capital and power.

Prabowo also revealed the process of designating Marsinah as a national hero. According to the President, the proposal came from labor organizations who conveyed their aspirations directly to him.

"If the workers agree to nominate a candidate, I will raise him to be a national hero. They are one voice, all labor organizations agree that Ibu Marsinah is a national hero," he said.

In his speech, Prabowo alluded to the existence of entrepreneurs who used the police to suppress the people. He said that such a culture should not be continued.

"Today I just realized, I just understand, the police, the apparatus are used by certain capitalists. This culture must not be continued," he said.

Prabowo asked state officials to no longer be protectors of irregularities. He emphasized that the police were paid by the people and had to side with the people. The Marsinah Museum is a sign that the struggle of workers should not be separated from the agenda of social justice. The state, according to Prabowo, should not be neutral when the little people face power inequality.