Prabowo urges Indonesia to follow ‘straight path’ at Muhammadiyah gathering

PALU, INDONESIAN POST — President Prabowo Subianto urged Indonesians to embrace the principle of Siratal Mustaqim, or the “straight path,” as a guide to national life and governance, saying the country must distinguish right from wrong and reject greed that undermines society.

Prabowo spoke on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at the opening of Muhammadiyah’s Tanwir assembly and 114th-anniversary celebration at the H. Rusdy Toana Banua Kaili Building at Muhammadiyah University of Palu in Central Sulawesi province.

Addressing Muhammadiyah leaders and members, Prabowo said Siratal Mustaqim was among the lessons from his teachers and religious mentors that had stayed with him most strongly.

“I learned from my teachers, my Islamic scholars and my religious instructors. What has stayed with me most is Siratal Mustaqim,” Prabowo said.

He said people face two paths in life — one of truth and the other of wrongdoing. Some follow the straight path, he said, while others succumb to greed and criminal conduct.

Prabowo linked that principle to the management of Indonesia’s wealth. He said abuses of power and the pursuit of narrow interests had prevented the country’s abundant resources from fully benefiting its people.

He described greed and corruption as serious problems that required reforms in how the country is governed. Indonesia’s wealth, he said, should improve the welfare of all its people.

“What we are working to do is fix a flawed system and safeguard the wealth of the Indonesian people so that all Indonesians can benefit from it,” he said.

Prabowo also said national development must aim to eliminate poverty and hunger. A country with abundant natural resources should not allow its people to continue living in hardship, he said.

“Our goal must be to eliminate poverty from Indonesia and eliminate hunger from Indonesia,” he said.

He also called for protecting democracy from the dominance of money and vested interests, urging Indonesians not to let personal ambitions and narrow interests divide the country.

Reflecting on Indonesia’s struggle for nationhood, Prabowo cited Ahmad Dahlan and Ki Bagus Hadikusumo as national figures with far-reaching aspirations for the country. He said the nation’s founders had not fought to establish a country that would allow injustice and poverty to persist.

His address at Muhammadiyah’s Tanwir assembly and anniversary celebration centered on truth, integrity and the public interest as guiding principles for service to the nation (Muhammadiyah/Anas)