Two Years of Prabowo’s Government: How Long Can People Keep Being Told to Be Patient?

In Indonesia, people are often asked to understand difficult circumstances.

When prices rise, they are told to be patient. When taxes increase, they are asked to understand. When fuel prices go up, they are reminded that sacrifice is necessary. When jobs become harder to find, they are encouraged to stay optimistic.

What is less common is seeing the government show the same level of understanding toward the growing frustration of ordinary citizens.

Over the past two years, many Indonesians have experienced increasing economic pressure. Daily necessities have become more expensive, household expenses continue to rise, and many families feel their purchasing power weakening. For those whose incomes have remained stagnant, every new increase feels like another burden added to an already heavy load.

The demonstrations that have emerged in various cities should not be viewed as isolated incidents. Public protests rarely appear out of nowhere. They are often the result of accumulated disappointment, a signal that many citizens feel their concerns are no longer being heard through conventional channels.

The government may point to economic indicators, investment figures, or long-term development projects as evidence that the country is moving in the right direction. Those metrics matter. However, most people do not experience the economy through statistics.

They experience it through grocery bills.

They experience it through school fees, transportation costs, electricity payments, and the struggle to secure stable employment.

A government can report positive economic growth, but if a significant portion of society feels that life is becoming more difficult, there is a disconnect that cannot be ignored.

Another concern is the growing perception that criticism is increasingly treated as a threat rather than a necessary component of democracy. Healthy democracies depend on public scrutiny. Citizens should be able to question policies, challenge priorities, and express dissatisfaction without being labeled as obstacles to national progress.

Criticism is not the enemy of government.

Silence is.

A government that receives no criticism is not necessarily successful. It may simply be disconnected from the realities people face every day.

Many Indonesians are now asking a simple question: Why does the cost of living continue to rise while promises of prosperity remain out of reach?

That question deserves an answer.

Democracy does not end after an election. Citizens do not surrender their right to evaluate leaders once ballots have been counted. In fact, accountability begins the moment a government takes office.

Indonesia’s people have demonstrated remarkable patience through economic uncertainty, political transitions, and countless promises of a better future.

But patience is not unlimited.

When living costs continue to increase, employment opportunities remain scarce, and economic insecurity becomes a daily reality, the greatest risk is not public anger alone.

It is the gradual erosion of trust.

And once trust in government begins to disappear, rebuilding it becomes far more difficult than balancing a budget, launching a development project, or delivering another political speech.

Because in the end, governments are not sustained by power alone.

They are sustained by the confidence of the people they serve.

What do you think? Has the current government done enough to address the economic concerns of ordinary Indonesians, or is the gap between official narratives and public reality becoming too wide to ignore?