Jakarta — President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, personally attended the 2025 International Labor Day celebration at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta on Thursday (May 1).

His presence marked a historic moment, as it was the first time since President Sukarno in the 1960s that a head of state joined workers directly to commemorate Labor Day in the heart of the capital city.

Beneath the blazing sun, Prabowo was welcomed with roaring cheers from hundreds of thousands of workers who had filled the Monas grounds since early morning. Shouts of “Prabowo! Prabowo! Prabowo!” echoed across the crowd as he arrived.

Instead of heading straight to the main stage, Prabowo took time to greet workers one by one along the security barricade. His warm handshakes and genuine smiles were met with enthusiastic responses from the crowd.

“Sir, a photo please!” several workers shouted as they stretched out their phones. Prabowo paused several times to take selfies, assisted by members of the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres).

Event host Raffi Ahmad lightened the atmosphere by translating the plea of a worker from West Java who called out in Sundanese.

“Bapak aing mana?” (“Where is my father?”), Raffi mimicked.

“Bapak Prabowo aya tiditu!” (“Mr. Prabowo is right over there!”), he replied, prompting laughter and cheers from the crowd.

Even after reaching the stage, Prabowo did not immediately sit. Instead, he moved to the side of the platform to greet more workers on the left side of the venue, demonstrating his heartfelt connection with the labor community. Many faces lit up with joy—some even shed tears of happiness at being acknowledged personally by the President.

In his speech, Prabowo expressed deep gratitude to the workers who had stood by him for years.

“I feel like the president of workers, farmers, fishermen—of the people who struggle. I want to say that the government I lead will work tirelessly to eradicate poverty from the land of Indonesia,” Prabowo declared with conviction.

This year’s Labor Day celebration carried the theme “Workers Unite, Defend the Nation.”

The event was also attended by key state officials, including Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Deputy Minister for Communication and Digital Affairs Angga Raka Prabowo, Speaker of the House Puan Maharani, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly Ahmad Muzani, and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.

From the labor community, notable attendees included Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation Shoya Yoshida, President of KSBSI Ely Rosita Silaban, KSPSI Chairman Jumhur Hidayat, KSPSI President Andi Gani Nena Wea, and KSPI President Said Iqbal.