Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto said Saturday that his government had zero intention to make Indonesians suffer, while asking people to give more time for his relatively new cabinet to prove itself.

Speaking in a nationwide Christmas event, Prabowo admitted that he was aware that people had been demanding results from his Merah Putih (“Red and White”) Cabinet, which only got formed about two months ago. The retired army general claimed that his government would serve the people “without a day off”. But Prabowo wants people to understand that it takes time before the government’s plans actually bear fruit.

“I’m determined to lead a clean government, one that will safeguard the Indonesian people’s interests. We don’t have the slightest intention to make people’s lives harder,” Prabowo said in Jakarta.

He added: “Please be patient. Please wait for a while. I understand that it is really tough to be patient. I even pray to God to give me strength to deliver the results to the people as soon as possible.”

Over the past week, Prabowo has been making headlines for his recent statement on pardoning corruptors who return the stolen assets. The president also took the chance to clarify his comment.

"It is not that I want to forgive the corruption offenders. No, that's not it. I just want to wake them up. Those who have already sinned, please repent. Isn't that part of the religious teachings? Don't you feel sorry for the people? Please return the stolen assets before we look for them," he said.

Prabowo officially rose to power on Oct. 20, succeeding Former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo who had been leading Southeast Asia’s largest economy for a decade. Prabowo also has the giant Merah Putih Cabinet under his wings with 48 ministers, 5 minister-level officials, and 56 vice ministers. Some of Jokowi’s ministers also got reappointed. 

At present, the government is facing backlash after proceeding with the plan to raise the value-added tax (VAT) from the current 11 percent to 12 percent starting on Wednesday. The Prabowo government is also currently gearing up for an ambitious school-feeding program that will cost the country about Rp 71 trillion (around $4.4 billion) in the first year.

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