Jakarta. Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto underscored the shortage of medical experts and doctors in Indonesia during the fifth and final presidential debate of the 2024 election in the Jakarta Convention Centre on Sunday. Recognizing the shortage of 140,000 doctors, he voiced his commitment to addressing this challenge by expanding medical faculties domestically and offering 10,000 scholarships for overseas study.

"A total of 10,000 gifted high school graduates will receive scholarships for overseas medical studies," he said.

"And another 10,000 would receive scholarships for studies in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics in foreign universities," he added.

Beyond scholarships, Prabowo emphasized the crucial need for infrastructure, addressing issues such as inadequate equipment and the limited availability of medical faculties in Indonesia. Presently, there are only 92 medical faculties in the country, but Prabowo aims to increase this number to 300 as part of his program.

During the debate, Prabowo also reiterated his promise to build 3 million homes for low-income families and provide free meals for children and pregnant mothers, positioning it as a crucial initiative compared to other proposals, such as free internet.

Prabowo will also conduct an audit of the current education system, citing numerous financial leaks in fund allocations down to the district level.

"We must audit and assess whether the system is good or not. This involves the mental and cultural issues of our officials. We need self-correction, conduct audits, and rectify systemic issues," said Prabowo in response to statements from candidate Anies Baswedan during the Presidential Debate at JCC, Jakarta, on Sunday.