JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto rejects the notion that the Indonesian people are lazy, weak, and just like to relax. He said that view ignores the fact that millions of people work hard before the sun rises.
Prabowo made the statement when he inaugurated the start of the construction of the Abadi Masela LNG Project online from Jakarta, Thursday, July 16.
"There are parties who always look down on the Indonesian nation, who always take the Indonesian nation for granted," said Prabowo.
According to the President, the hospitality of the Indonesian people is often misunderstood as a weakness. The habit of avoiding the heat is also considered a sign of laziness.
"We are said to be a relaxed nation. We are said to be a lazy nation. That the Indonesian people, the people, their hobby is to sleep," he said.
Prabowo said this assumption was not in line with people's daily lives. Fishermen go to sea in the dark and risk their lives to find fish. Farmers, garden workers, and residents in the interior also start working from early morning.
"Our people are fighting hard day by day to find a decent life," he said.
He said many people went to the rice fields, fields, looking for water, wood, hunting, or sailing when it was still dark. Some only returned after the sun went down.
Prabowo said the habit of resting in the hot sun was a way for people to adapt to the hot climate, not proof that they were reluctant to work.
The statement came as Prabowo discussed Indonesia's relations with foreign partners and investors in the Abadi Masela LNG Project.
He said Indonesia was open to mutually beneficial cooperation. However, a friendly attitude should not make other parties think that the Indonesian nation is easy to suppress or underestimate.
"Indonesia is now an adult. Indonesian leaders are not stupid leaders, not naive leaders, not cowardly leaders," said Prabowo.
The Masela project involves INPEX from Japan, Petronas from Malaysia, and Pertamina. Prabowo asked the project to provide benefits for investors as well as tangible benefits for the people.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
