Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto said Wednesday that a combination of capitalism and socialism would suit Indonesia’s economic system the best.
Prabowo, who is currently in pursuit of an 8 percent economic growth, said that countries of the 21st century should find the best system that works for them. He recalled his conversation with his late father, Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, a senior economist and former minister. He remembered asking Soemitro what would be the best economic system for Indonesia.
“[My father responded] a mixed economic system [would be the best for Indonesia]. We must take the best of capitalism and socialism. I think this is going to be the mainstream thinking,” Prabowo told the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Jakarta on Wednesday evening.
Prabowo said that this was reminiscent of the so-called “Third Way movement” that was often associated with Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This is a centrist position that tries to reconcile the center-left social policy and center-right economic policy.
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“I don’t think, in the 21st-century world, we can opt for one set of thinking, one set of philosophy that works for everybody. We need to find … a system that works for our country,” Prabowo said.
According to Prabowo, Soemitro’s past as a socialist and frequent interactions with American business leaders had shaped his father’s balanced stance on the economy. Prabowo added: “The thinking had always been socialistic, but he [my father] understood that capitalism, free enterprise, really had something that’s very important.”
Indonesia’s economy grew 5.12 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025. Prabowo aims to record an 8 percent annual growth rate, an ambitious goal as Indonesia usually expands within the 5 percent range. Prabowo told the same forum that he remained upbeat that an 8 percent growth would be “very achievable” with his nationwide free meal rollout and rural cooperatives program. Based on his discussions with economists, 400,000 jobs could spur economic growth by 1 percent.
“With this free meal program, we are directly creating 1.5 million jobs. … So that’s a 3 percent [additional growth],” Prabowo said.
The 81,000 rural cooperatives, which Prabowo had launched earlier this year, is also expected to become a huge job maker.
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