Prabowo’s First 100 Days: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The first 100 days in office are a critical period for political leaders. It’s like the opening act of a jazz performance, setting the rhythm, establishing the groove, and hinting at the themes to come.

As the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration hits its 100-day milestone on January 28, 2025, various institutions have dropped their reviews and surveys. So, what’s the verdict?

Below-Average Report Card

On January 21, 2025, the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) became the first institution to release an evaluation of the Prabowo-Gibran administration’s first 100 days in office.

In their report titled “Prabowo-Gibran’s 100-Day Report Card,” Celios gave poor ratings in various areas. Celios researcher Media Wahyudi Askar pointed out some negatives in the Prabowo-Gibran report card, like having too many cabinet members, the food estate project, the tax amnesty plan, and cutting down fiscal space to fund the Free Nutritious Meal program.

“Then there’s the current tax policy. We might see a tax amnesty and a push to lower corporate income tax. This could mean the middle class ends up paying more income tax,” Askar explained as reported by Tirto.id.

He also mentioned that 52% of respondents think the budget management under Prabowo-Gibran is poor, and 39% feel the same about their policy communication.

Overall, Celios rated the Prabowo-Gibran performance as below average. In their first 100 days, Prabowo scored 5 out of 10, while Gibran got a 3 out of 10 for his role as vice president.

People-centric Policies

The Celios survey on the first 100 days of the Prabowo-Gibran administration showed less-than-stellar results. However, other survey institutions have reported high levels of public satisfaction with the current Indonesian government.

Unlike Celios’ evaluation study, which is based on expert judgment involving 95 journalists from 44 credible media institutions, Kompas and the National Survey Institute used the general public as respondents.

The results from the Kompas survey showed a government performance satisfaction rate of 80.9% in January 2025, while the National Survey Institute reported a satisfaction rate of 87.5%. Kompas even said that the level of public satisfaction with the Prabowo-Gibran government is the highest in the last 10 years since January 2015.

In a conversation with Kompas, Ah Maftuchan, Executive Director of The Prakarsa, mentioned 3 economic policies that have contributed to the high public satisfaction with the new government.

The first is the debt relief policy for Small-Medium Business/MSMEs, the second is a 6.5% increase in the Provincial Minimum Wage, and the third is a 12% Value Added Tax (VAT) that only applies to luxury goods.

“It is aimed at maintaining popular short-term policies,” Maftuchan explained.

Improving Business Climate

The business community and entrepreneurs also have generally given positive feedback about the Prabowo-Gibran administration.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) also viewed the VAT policy as a sign of the Prabowo administration’s commitment to improving the business climate while also maintaining the people’s purchasing power.

Apindo Chairperson, Shinta Kamdani, praised President Prabowo’s visits to numerous countries to attract investment and invite many investors to Indonesia.

“We strongly support the President’s efforts to continuously boost investment and collaborate with potential investors to enter Indonesia,” said Shinta on January 21, 2025.

Supportive Environment

Despite some initial criticisms, the Prabowo-Gibran administration has garnered significant public support, with satisfaction rates reaching impressive levels.

This positive sentiment reflects the administration’s commitment to economic growth and stability, making Indonesia an attractive destination for foreign businesses.

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