JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto declared an open war against garbage. This was said in the National Coordination Meeting of the Central and Regional Governments at the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC), Bogor, Monday, February 2.
For Prabowo, the waste problem is no longer just a cleanliness issue, but a serious threat to public health, tourism, economy, and the dignity of the nation in the eyes of the world.
Prabowo stopped his formal exposure. Without a script, he spoke firmly about one thing: Indonesia must not lose to garbage.
His tone was flat, but his orders were clear. He asked all levels of the country - ministers, regional heads, TNI-Polri, SOEs, to schools - to go down directly to clean the environment.
"This garbage is an emergency. This is not a small matter. This is about the face of our nation. I declare, we are at war against garbage," said Prabowo.
The anger was triggered by his personal experience when he received complaints from South Korean officials after returning from Bali. The Indonesian mainstay tourist destination was considered dirty and filled with garbage.
"He told me, 'Bali is now dirty, uncomfortable.' I accepted it as a harsh correction. How can tourists come if the beach is full of plastic?" said Prabowo.
According to him, tourism is the fastest sector to create jobs. However, all of these potentials collapse if the environment is not well-maintained.
Therefore, he ordered the governors, regents, and mayors to make cleanliness a top priority, not just an additional program. Mass volunteer work or korve is asked to be carried out regularly and scheduled.
Not only an appeal, Prabowo even gave command instructions.
"If the regional head does not move, I order the Dandim, Danrem, the National Police. Deploy troops. Korve, korve, korve. Clean it all," he said.
Each ministry and agency is required to clean the surrounding environment before starting work activities, at least 10-30 minutes every day. Ministers are asked to give direct examples in the field.
Prabowo assessed that collective discipline is much more important than mere regulations on paper.
"I don't want to see the state office surrounded by garbage. The state must set an example," he said.
The quick move is complemented by a medium-term strategy. The government will build 34 waste-to-energy projects in 34 major cities this year to reduce the burden of landfills (TPA) which are increasingly critical.
National data shows that the challenges faced are not small. Of the approximately 21 million tons of waste generated per year, only about a third is managed. The rest ends up in open landfills, is burned, or pollutes the environment.
For Prabowo, this condition can no longer be tolerated.
"Garbage is a source of disease, a source of disaster. This is about the future of our children. We have to be clean. Indonesia must be clean," he said.
With the direct command of the President, the war against garbage is now a national movement - not just a campaign, but a real action involving all elements of the country.
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