President Prabowo Subianto has urged a new generation of Indonesian civil servants to build an effective, disciplined and corruption-free bureaucracy, saying they will eventually occupy key government positions as Indonesia is projected to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050.
Speaking Wednesday at the inauguration of 1,204 graduates of the Institute of Public Administration, or IPDN, in Jatinangor, Sumedang, West Java, Prabowo said the young officials would be responsible for implementing government policies and determining whether the country’s development ambitions translate into tangible improvements for the public.
“In the next 25 years, it is you who will run the government,” Prabowo told the graduates.
The president said several international projections indicate that Indonesia’s economy could surpass those of France, Germany and the United Kingdom over the next quarter century. With its large population and growing economic potential, Indonesia could emerge as a major global economic power, he said.
But Prabowo cautioned that economic ambitions alone would not guarantee national progress. Government policies, he said, ultimately depend on the quality of the bureaucracy responsible for carrying them out.
“You are the driving force behind governance and the bureaucracy, determining the success of future development agendas,” Prabowo said.
His remarks placed the newly inaugurated civil servants at the center of Indonesia’s longer-term development strategy. Many of them could eventually occupy senior positions in central and regional governments, giving them a direct role in implementing policies that will shape the country’s economy and public institutions for decades.
Prabowo said the government was seeking to prepare a new generation of officials capable of leading an increasingly complex state administration. He urged the graduates to see public service not as a path to status or privilege, but as a responsibility to the people and the republic.
“Today, you have chosen a noble path — one dedicated to serving the people, the nation, and Indonesia,” Prabowo said in remarks broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat.
He warned that the path would not be easy, with public officials expected to confront pressure, difficult decisions and challenges that require personal sacrifice. The honor of being a state official, he said, should be measured not by rank or title but by the impact of government work on citizens.
That emphasis reflects one of the central challenges facing Indonesia’s bureaucracy: translating political commitments and government programs into effective implementation at the local level. Prabowo said even the strongest policies and most ambitious plans could fail if officials were unable or unwilling to execute them properly.
“Great ideas, well-designed plans, and sound policies will ultimately be meaningless if they are not implemented on the ground. Even the best plans will fail without proper execution,” he said.
For Prabowo, the solution begins with a bureaucracy that is straightforward, responsive and focused on public needs rather than administrative complexity.
“Our people do not need a complicated bureaucracy. Our people do not need leaders who do not do their absolute best,” he said.
He called for civil servants to work with honesty and discipline, reject corruption and have the courage to make decisions when circumstances require them. Officials, he said, must be willing to be present on the ground rather than allowing bureaucratic procedures to become an obstacle to public service.
Citizens ultimately experience the state through the behavior and decisions of government officials, Prabowo said. The quality of public services therefore has a direct effect on public trust in government and the state itself.
“It is the people who will feel whether the state cares about them or not,” he said. “Based on the decisions you make, the public will judge whether the state is worthy of trust.”
The president also urged the graduates to remain guided by Pancasila, Indonesia’s state ideology, and the 1945 Constitution as they begin their careers in public administration. He emphasized humility and told them to place the interests and welfare of the public above personal ambition.
The government’s emphasis on meritocracy was also reflected in the composition of the graduating class. Prabowo said the IPDN admission process had provided opportunities for candidates from diverse social and economic backgrounds, including children of workers, farmers and military noncommissioned officers.
“Many of them were raised in very modest families, with some being children of laborers, farmers, and non-commissioned military officers,” Prabowo said.
He described the diversity as evidence that the state can create pathways for talented Indonesians to enter public service regardless of their socioeconomic background.
“We want a truly credible selection process that produces the best talents for the nation,” Prabowo said. “Anyone, including the children of laborers, has the opportunity to become young civil servants and one day rise to national leadership.”
The president said a merit-based system was consistent with the principles of Pancasila because it gives qualified citizens the opportunity to contribute to the country according to their abilities.
“This is proof that the Republic of Indonesia is succeeding and that Pancasila truly provides opportunities to those who excel through a merit-based system. This makes me proud,” he said.
The 1,204 graduates were members of IPDN’s Class XXXIII and were formally inaugurated under a decree issued by the Home Affairs Ministry. Aji Bayu Ramadhan of East Nusa Tenggara was named the class valedictorian after completing a major in Government Information Engineering Technology.
Aji is the son of Winoto Hadi, a construction worker, and Wahyuniarti, a housewife. His background was highlighted as an example of the social mobility that the government says a merit-based civil service system should provide.
Prabowo also called on the graduates to develop strong working relationships across government institutions and with communities in their respective assignments. He said public administration cannot function effectively when institutions operate in isolation.
“Once you have been assigned to your respective posts, you will not work alone. You will be part of a grand team serving the nation,” he said.
The president urged the young officials to cooperate with the Indonesian National Armed Forces, or TNI; the National Police, or Polri; the Attorney General’s Office; and regional governments. He also encouraged them to build constructive relationships with religious leaders, business representatives, public figures and traditional community leaders.
“Cooperation is the key to success. You must respect, support, and strengthen one another,” Prabowo said.
The message was particularly relevant to IPDN graduates, whose future assignments may place them at the intersection of central government policy, regional administration and community interests. Prabowo said effective governance requires officials to understand the communities they serve and coordinate with institutions that have different responsibilities.
He warned the graduates against arrogance, emphasizing that government authority must be accompanied by humility and a willingness to listen. Public officials, he said, should understand that their positions exist to serve citizens rather than elevate themselves above them.
The graduates had already received an early test of public service before their formal inauguration. They were deployed for a month to assist disaster-relief operations in Aceh following landslides and floods that struck the province in late 2025.
The experience gave the young officials an opportunity to work directly with communities affected by disasters and to see how government institutions respond under pressure. It also reinforced Prabowo’s argument that effective bureaucracy depends on implementation rather than policy design alone.
The president said the young civil servants should continue to work closely with other state institutions and society throughout their careers. Their effectiveness, he said, will ultimately be measured by whether government programs reach the people they are intended to serve.
That challenge will become increasingly important if Indonesia’s economy continues its projected rise. A larger economy will require a bureaucracy capable of administering more complex policies, managing greater public resources and responding to the needs of a larger and increasingly sophisticated economy.
Prabowo’s projection that Indonesia could become the world’s fourth-largest economy within 25 years therefore came with a warning: economic scale without institutional capacity would not be enough.
The 1,204 new officials will enter government at a time when Indonesia is seeking to accelerate development while improving the quality of public administration. Their careers could span the period in which the country’s economic ambitions are tested against the realities of governance, infrastructure, human capital and institutional reform.
For Prabowo, the responsibility begins with the people now entering the bureaucracy. He said the government would continue creating opportunities for young officials to develop their capabilities and eventually assume leadership roles.
But he also placed responsibility directly on the graduates themselves. They must preserve their integrity, work across institutional boundaries, reject corruption, avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and maintain the public’s trust.
The president’s message was ultimately less about their first government assignments than about the decades ahead. If Indonesia is to become a major global economic power, he argued, it will need not only strong economic policies and ambitious development programs but also civil servants capable of turning those plans into reality.
The young officials graduating from IPDN are therefore being asked to see themselves not simply as new employees of the Indonesian state, but as future custodians of its bureaucracy. Their decisions, conduct and ability to serve the public will help determine whether Indonesia’s economic ambitions are matched by the quality of governance needed to sustain them.
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