Jakarta — President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, issued a stern warning to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise under the Ministry of Finance regarding smuggling and questionable import practices. The government, he said, is committed to eradicating rent-seeking in import activities, which he believes has burdened both local businesses and the public.
“Customs must get its act together. No more funny business. Stop coming up with unnecessary procedures,” Prabowo asserted during the Economic Dialogue with the President of the Republic of Indonesia at Menara Mandiri in Jakarta, Tuesday (April 8).
As a former soldier, Prabowo claimed he understands the various tricks employed by irresponsible actors to smuggle goods. He pledged firm action against any officials found to be involved in or protecting such practices.
“We must take firm action. We need to fix this situation — too many of our people are still struggling. Don’t be part of practices that are essentially harming our own citizens,” he said.
The president also emphasized that the importation of raw materials must be fair and non-discriminatory, rejecting any policies that benefit only a handful of large corporations.
“You can’t just appoint companies A, B, C, and D and let them have all the import privileges. That’s not right,” Prabowo declared.
