Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin confirmed that President Prabowo Subianto invited several figures considered opposition on Friday, January 30, 2026.

One of the attendees was the former Chairperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission, Abraham Samad, who argued that the label "opposition" was not entirely accurate. He noted that the meeting was attended by several experts in their respective fields.

Among them were the chief political researcher at BRIN, Siti Zuhro; former Secretary of the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Said Didu; and former National Police Criminal Investigation Department Chief, Police Commissioner General (Ret.) Susno Duadji.

Abraham said that the government was represented by Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Foreign Minister Sugiono, and State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi. The meeting was also attended by Retired Major General Zacky Anwar Makarim, former Head of Intelligence of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.

The meeting lasted for four and a half hours, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at Prabowo's residence on Jalan Kertanegara, Jakarta. The meeting began with Prabowo presenting various government programs and efforts to save natural resources. "Prabowo presented for approximately 40 minutes," he said.

Regarding the preservation of natural resources, Abraham said that Prabowo expressed a firm resolve to confront oligarchs. Prabowo claimed he does not fear them, despite their potential to retaliate by attacking Indonesia's economy.

"Although they certainly have ways to confront Prabowo, such as attempting to destabilize Indonesia's economy to trigger a crisis," he said.

Abraham said Prabowo also mentioned his reasons for joining the Board of Peace established by U.S. President Donald Trump. While Abraham did not recall Prabowo's specific reason for joining the Board of Peace, he noted Prabowo saying that Indonesia could withdraw if the Board of Peace proved detrimental to the people of Palestine and Gaza.

"Prabowo said there's no need to worry too much. Because if in the course of its operations it turns out to bring more harm to the people of Palestine and Gaza, we can withdraw," he said.

In addition, Prabowo touched on police reform and the results of the meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Following the President's remarks, each attendee presented material related to their expertise, with Abraham focusing on corruption eradication and legal frameworks.

Abraham pointed out that Indonesia's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) remains poor, noting that Transparency International's 2024 score for Indonesia was just 37 out of 100.

He proposed a roadmap for corruption eradication and strategies to boost the CPI, emphasizing that Indonesia has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Within that framework, he highlighted four critical points affecting the national index.

The first point is foreign bribery, while the second involves the illicit enrichment of state officials and law enforcement officers. "This must be addressed through asset recovery; Indonesia needs asset seizure laws to monitor the wealth of public officials," he explained.

The third point concerns influence peddling, and the final point is commercial bribery.

"So, the four things I conveyed are that these four things are international issues for the corruption eradication agenda," he said.

President Prabowo's invitation to these figures was initially revealed by Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin during a retreat for the Indonesian Journalists Association.

According to Sjafrie, the dialogue focused on how the country should be managed collaboratively by all parties. "Last night, the President met with several national figures who were, in quotation marks, referred to as the opposition," Sjafrie said in Bogor.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi later clarified the identities of those who visited the Kertanegara residence on Friday night. These guests had previously been labeled as opposition by the Defense Minister.

Unlike Sjafrie, Prasetyo did not want to refer to them as opposition figures. "There were no opposition figures. They were also societal figures whom the President was open to having a dialogue with and receiving input," said Prasetyo at Wisma Danantara, South Jakarta, on Saturday, January 31, 2026.

– Sultan Abdurrahman contributed to this article.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2084338/inside-prabowos-meeting-with-experts-opposition-figure