Ervana Trikarinaputri, Jakarta – Laboratorim Indonesian 2045 (LAB45) underscores the growing centralization of political control in the two years of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka's administration. LAB45 examined two years of the Prabowo-Gibran administration across four sectors: politics-media, economic-politics, gender, and politics, law, and security.
LAB45 Head Jaleswari Pramodhawardani noted a common pattern during Prabowo's tenure: budgets and authority are channeled into the central government and flagship programs. Meanwhile, facilities that protect citizens on a daily basis, local services, victim protection agencies, and crisis communication are declining.
"Our findings can be summarized in one sentence: centralized control, dwindling protection," Jaleswari said on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
Four sectors were examined to evaluate the pattern of centralized control in Prabowo-Gibran's government. For example, regional fund transfers were down from 25 percent in 2025 to 18 percent in 2026, the largest annual drop in two decades.
"In the same year, debt interest was earmarked at nearly Rp600 trillion, accounting for more than four-fifths of all funds transferred to regions, and 153 regional governments did not receive any physical special allocation funds (DAK)," Jaleswari explained.
In the defense sector, LAB45 highlighted the inauguration of 366 new units of the Indonesian Armed Forces carried out by Prabowo since August 2025. In 2025 alone, the defense spending reached Rp348.58 trillion.
"More than twice the budget ceiling for state budget," Jaleswari stated. On the other hand, planned spendings, such as early warning aircraft and replacements for 36 F-15 fighter jets, have yet to secure contracts.
The former Deputy V for Political, Legal, Defense, Security, and Human Rights Affairs at the Presidential Staff Office also looked at the condition of women's protection over the past two years. Based on data from the National Commission on Violence Against Women, there were 376,529 cases of gender-based violence against women throughout 2025.
This figure is the highest in the last 10 years, but the indicative budget ceiling for the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPA) in 2027 is only around Rp187 billion, more than a third lower than the realization in 2025. "For comparison, the National Nutrition Agency received Rp240 trillion," Jaleswari added.
She also criticized public communication under the Prabowo-Gibran administration. The budget for the Government Communications Agency in 2027 was approved at Rp1.9 trillion, which is a 77-fold increase and about ten times the cap of the KPPA.
"The number of communication blunders by officials has indeed dropped, from 163 to 140. But the president's blunders rose from 32 to 48," she remarked.
LAB45 concluded that the current issue lies not in the intent of the state leaders but in the design, as Prabowo's government tends to trim invisible parts.
According to Jaleswari, the same pattern is seen in how the state distributes welfare. There's a growing pattern of welfare distribution through a command chain, such as soldiers building village cooperatives to police managing nutritional kitchens.
"On paper, this is a faster route. But it views people as beneficiaries instead of subjects," Jaleswari said.
Tempo has contacted the Head of the Indonesian Government Communications Agency Syahganda Nainggolan and the Deputy III for Partnerships and Media Relations of the Indonesian Government Communications Agency Kurnia Ramadhana for their responses. However, as of the writing of this article, no immediate response was given.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2122175/two-years-of-prabowo-gibran-centralized-control-dwindling-protectio