TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto remarked that there is a growing trend of people who believe they are highly intelligent. According to him, this sense of self-assuredness often leads individuals to comment on a wide range of issues.
"Many people feel smart. Perhaps they hold multiple degrees, studied at top universities, and think they are the smartest. They comment on everything, don’t they? Everything becomes a subject for their opinion," said Prabowo during his speech at the PSI Congress in Solo, Central Java, on Sunday, July 20, 2025.
Prabowo acknowledged that he, too, is frequently the subject of such commentary. He shared that he often spends evenings watching podcasts that discuss him and finds it amusing that these shows seem to understand his thoughts better than he does.
"I often check social media at night. I watch podcasts. I want to know what Prabowo is thinking. They seem to know more about me than I do," he said.
As the former defense minister, Prabowo cited an example of a podcast that analyzed his relationship with the seventh president, Joko Widodo. The podcast claimed that he and Jokowi had parted ways.
"Prabowo has broken away from Jokowi. Oh, I see. Everything is analyzed," he said.
However, Prabowo stated that he is not troubled by these discussions. He sees them as part of the democratic process. Even so, the Gerindra Party chairman warned about the dangers posed by advancements in information technology, particularly its use to spread hoaxes, hate speech, and misinformation.
He also criticized some media outlets for being unwilling to accept corrections or issue apologies when they are wrong.
"They don’t want to be corrected, and they refuse to apologize. That’s something we need to watch out for," he said.
Prabowo emphasized that national harmony is essential for a country's success. He stressed the importance of working together after the competition ends. He then recalled how President Jokowi invited him to join the Indonesia Maju Cabinet as defense minister following their political rivalry.
Before the 2024 election, Prabowo adopted a similar approach by inviting parties that had previously opposed him in the 2019 election to become part of the coalition.
"After that, we came together again, purely for the sake of the nation and the people, only for the public good," he said.
Prabowo also commented on so-called intelligent individuals who only produce podcasts. During the sixth National Mandate Party (PAN) Congress at the Kempinski Hotel in Jakarta on Saturday, August 28, 2024, he admitted feeling somewhat annoyed by podcasts that repeatedly discussed an alleged rift between him and President Jokowi.
According to Prabowo, these podcasts often offended him. He joked that the podcasters seemed to know more about him than he did himself.
"He knows how Mr. Prabowo thinks better than I do. Sometimes, when I want to know what I’m thinking, I just watch that podcast. He knows better than me," he said.
Daniel A Fajri contributed to the writing of this article.
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