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Prabowo Subianto
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Prabowo Subianto

Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo is Indonesia’s eighth president, representing the Gerindra Party. He took office in October 2024. A former military general previously accused of human rights abuses during the presidency of his father-in-law Suharto, Prabowo served as defence minister under former president Joko Widodo, who defeated him in two prior elections.
Born
17 Oct 1951
Industry
Politics
Job Title
President of Indonesia
Pupils take part in a routine ceremony on the first day of school at an elementary school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia on July 15, 2024. Photo: AFP
Students during a break at a high school in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January 2024. Photo: AP
Indonesia

Indonesia targets free public schooling amid funding concerns

Education experts question where the money will come from, and urge the government to focus on improving the quality of learning.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s 3% deficit cap: guardrail or growth barrier?

Indonesia

Indonesian coal deal fuels doubts over production quota approvals

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Malaysia

‘Open, close, reopen’: return of choking haze traps Malaysian schools in limbo

All 108 schools in Serian close again as API readings break 200, highlighting the limits of cloud seeding while monsoon winds persist.

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The Kuala Lumpur Tower is obscured by toxic haze from Indonesian wildfires on Monday. Photo: AFP
Motorists travel along a road as the prime minister’s office is partially obscured by haze in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in September. Photo: AP
Firefighters arrive to battle peatland and forest fires in Banjar, South Kalimantan, Indonesia on Monday. Photo: AFP
A helicopter drops water on forest fires in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan province, Indonesia on Monday. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Indonesia commissions first aircraft carrier, bolstering sea defence

Indonesia’s navy renamed the former Italian warship KRI Sriwijaya-100 at a ceremony in North Jakarta.

Indonesia

Can Indonesia speak for the Global South in its UN Security Council bid?

Jakarta wants a fifth term on the council, but faces accusations of hypocrisy and being a ‘fence-sitter’, analysts say.

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Malaysia

Malaysia deploys air force aircraft for cloud seeding to combat worsening haze

An Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft will be used as the main asset for the cloud seeding operations.

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Malaysia’s prime minister’s office in Putrajaya is partially obscured by haze on Thursday. Photo: AP
The Kuala Lumpur skyline is obscured as Malaysia’s capital records an unhealthy 192 on the air pollutant index on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
A residential area in Kuala Lumpur is blanketed in haze on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
Vladimir Putin

Opinion | Why the Global South keeps its doors wide open to Russia

Far from being isolated, Moscow’s relationships across the non-Western world are a geopolitical constant the West cannot break.

Indonesia

Pride or practicality? Indonesia welcomes first aircraft carrier

Jakarta has approved US$450 million for the aircraft carrier programme but some lawmakers warn the final bill could be higher.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s Prabowo mulls labelling wildfires as ‘ecological terrorism’

Indonesia is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with the hazardous haze also affecting neighbours Singapore and Malaysia.

The Singapore Flyer and commercial buildings are shrouded in haze at the Marina Bay area in Singapore on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
South China Sea

‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing’: why Japan’s Natuna port plan raises alarm in China

Tokyo offers port upgrades to boost maritime security, but analysts say Jakarta is being pragmatic, not taking sides against Beijing.

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An Indonesian coastguard ship sails next to a Vietnamese fishing vessel near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands in July 2020. Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian fishing boats have occasionally clashed over marine resources in the area. Photo: AFP
Singapore

Singapore ministers earn millions. What do other Asian leaders make?

Political pay structures elsewhere in Asia are shaped by factors including bureaucratic hierarchy, austerity and symbolic restraint.

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Indonesia

Indonesian finance minister notified of his firing in mid-meeting call

Purbaya ⁠Yudhi Sadewa said he was ‘upset’ over losing the top finance job, a move that also surprised markets.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s Prabowo appoints third finance minister in under 2 years

Suahasil Nazara takes over amid growing pressure on the budget, with analysts expecting a more cautious approach to fiscal management.

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Newly-appointed Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara speaks to journalists after his inauguration at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Wildfires threaten Indonesia’s new capital as carrier ordered in

The president has ordered water-bombing drones and an aircraft carrier to Kalimantan as 400 hectares burn near Nusantara.

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A firefighter sprays water to extinguish a wildfire in East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, in September. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Why Indonesian students are still falling ill despite free meal safety rules

In three days last week alone, close to 2,000 students suffered from food poisoning after eating meals from Prabowo’s flagship programme.

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Indonesia

Indonesia knew a volcano was erupting. Could it have prepared better?

An expert advises Jakarta to take steps such as announcing evacuation routes and releasing maps following a pre-eruption alert.

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Indonesia

Can Prabowo’s Putin camaraderie deliver real economic gains for Indonesia?

Good relations with Russia show ‘our president can work with all sides across the geopolitical divide,’ an analyst says.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday. Photo: Sputnik / EPA
Indonesia

Over 1,700 Indonesians get food poisoning after eating state-issued free meals

As of Tuesday, 50,000 individuals ‌contracted food poisoning, according to a lawmaker who criticises the ‘failure of the system’.

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The Philippines

Manila’s ‘acutely unhealthy’ air due to Indonesian haze spurs health warnings

The haze has led Quezon City to suspend classes in schools and health experts to urge residents to wear N95 masks outdoors.

Indonesia

Indonesia-US joint military drills with allies kick off with 4,700 soldiers

The exercises, which have been held for nearly two decades, will include special forces infiltration training and cyberdefence drills.

A US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter flies past during the Garuda Shield joint multinational exercise in Lampung, Indonesia, on September 3, 2025. Photo: AFP
Asean

Opinion | Why Southeast Asia isn’t buying the US’ offer of ‘flexible realism’

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby talked up US partnerships with Asean nations during his trip to the region, but Washington’s actions contradict its ‘Asia first’ rhetoric.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Malaysia

Smog without borders: Indonesia opens its skies to Malaysian rainmakers

Joint cloud seeding efforts offer immediate relief from the haze, but experts warn fire prevention at source is the real battle.

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SCMP Highlights

Viral Malaysian professor sacked; Marcos’ US$3b estate tax: 7 Asia highlights

From child-free Singaporeans to a Malaysian politician’s rant against the US, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

Indonesia

As toxic haze spreads, can Indonesia make land burners pay?

With thousands of fire hotspots traced to corporate land, the president has vowed action – but past efforts to collect fines have failed.

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A helicopter drops water to extinguish a wildfire burning through peatland in Jambi province, Indonesia, on Monday. Photo: BPBD Jambi/AP
Indonesia

Indonesia takes on Malaysia in battle over palm oil pricing

Palm oil is just the start. Indonesia’s new trade exchange also aims to oversee nickel and coal export volumes, prices and taxes.

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Workers transfer palm fruits to a truck before being processed into crude palm oil at a palm plantation in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

1,500 Indonesian soldiers deployed to fight Borneo wildfires

Fires between January and July burned over 200,000 hectares of land, driven by a powerful El Nino weather pattern causing dry conditions across the country.

Indonesia

‘Clothes went everywhere’: Indonesian quake survivors recall all-day aftershocks

Officials say there were 4,256 aftershocks since the quake off Flores, which killed 78 people and injured more than 900.

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