‘Not showmanship’: Aide hits back at critics of Prabowo’s foreign trips

JAKARTA – A top Indonesian official has launched the government’s most detailed defence yet of President Prabowo Subianto’s frequent overseas travel, pushing back against growing criticism from politicians, diplomats and international media over the costs, scale and priorities of his globe-trotting diplomacy.

In a nearly seven-minute video posted on the official Cabinet Secretariat’s YouTube channel on June 1, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya responded point-by-point to concerns raised by former deputy foreign minister Dino Patti Djalal and other critics.

The detailed rebuttal marks the first time a senior government official has directly addressed criticism surrounding Prabowo’s foreign travel, which has intensified as Indonesia grapples with a weakening rupiah and broader economic uncertainty.

Since taking office in October 2024, Prabowo has visited at least 29 countries in more than 50 overseas engagements, drawing scrutiny from critics who question whether the President has spent too much time abroad while domestic challenges mount.

Teddy argued that the trips had delivered tangible benefits for Indonesia, ranging from investment inflows and trade agreements to stronger defence ties and support for Palestine.

Difficult to justify?

Dino published a video on May 30 on Instagram urging Prabowo to significantly reduce his overseas travel, arguing that the frequency of his trips was becoming difficult to justify.

He argued that Prabowo’s overseas travel was unusually frequent and raised concerns about the costs, saying a presidential trip could run into hundreds of billions of rupiah once transportation, accommodation, logistics and security expenses were factored in.

“Since assuming office, the President has spent roughly one out of every six days abroad. It is therefore understandable that some people view this as unusual,” Dino said.

He also suggested the President make greater use of video calls and delegate more diplomatic missions to Foreign Minister Sugiono.

In his June 1 response, Teddy thanked Dino for his “very thorough and structured” input before noting the veteran diplomat had served as deputy foreign minister “only for about three months”.

Teddy, a former military officer who previously served as an aide to former president Joko Widodo and Prabowo during his time as defence minister, is widely regarded as one of the President’s closest aides, frequently travelling alongside him on overseas visits and major diplomatic engagements.

Addressing concerns over costs, Teddy said: “Any excess costs from the state budget are entirely borne by President Prabowo himself.”

Teddy also rejected suggestions that the President travelled with oversized delegations, saying the number of officials accompanying Prabowo had been reduced by more than half, compared with previous administrations.

“In the past, there could be more than 120 people going abroad at once. In Pak Dino’s time, it was like that. During President Prabowo’s time, the number was between 50 and 60 people at most.”

Dynamic developments

Global developments are becoming more dynamic, said Teddy, stressing it was impossible for all overseas visits to be planned a year in advance.

Rejecting suggestions the trips were merely “showmanship and ceremony”, he said: “We need to look at what has been achieved in the past year and a half.”

Among them, he said were Indonesia’s accession to BRICS, the conclusion of long-running trade negotiations with the European Union and investment inflows worth some 2,430 trillion rupiah (S$174 billion) over the past 18 months.

Teddy said recent overseas trips had already yielded concrete results, pointing out investment commitments worth around 575 trillion rupiah following Prabowo’s visits to Japan and South Korea in late March.

He also cited expanded defence partnerships with countries including France, the US, Russia, China and Britain, as well as progress on arrangements for Indonesian haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

On Palestine, Teddy pointed to Indonesia’s humanitarian efforts, including aid deliveries, a hospital ship and scholarships for Palestinian students.

There was also the return of Indonesian activists in May, after they were detained by Israel following an attempting to break the Gaza blockade, which he said was achieved through public and behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

“All of that is the diplomacy President Prabowo has pursued through various means, both public and private, because what matters most to us is the concrete results,” he said.

The debate regarding Prabowo’s travels has intensified in recent weeks amid growing questions over the administration’s priorities as Indonesia grapples with a weakening rupiah, an energy cost crisis, slowing economic momentum and regulatory uncertainty.

Criticism has also come from politicians and foreign policy observers who questioned whether the objectives and outcomes of some overseas trips had been communicated clearly to the public.

Among them was opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Mohamad Guntur Romli, who argued that Prabowo’s recent visit to France received limited attention from French media and pointed to critical coverage of the trip.

“While Indonesia media and government official accounts highly glorify President Prabowo’s state visit to Paris, the French media almost ignored it,” said Guntur in an Instagram post on May 31.

“One of the most influential media in France: Le Monde has just published a harsh criticism of Prabowo’s economic policy.”

He was referring to a May 22 article published by the French newspaper titled “Indonesia: President Prabowo’s Interventionism Causes Turbulence on the Markets”, which examined investor concerns over a series of economic policy interventions by the Indonesian government.

While welcoming criticism, Teddy said public debate should not overlook what he viewed as the administration’s achievements.

“We certainly welcome space for any input,” he said, “but we must not obscure the facts about all the results we have achieved.”