Minister of Defense Sjafri Sjamsoedidin: There Are Enemies Under the Covers of Prabowo's Government, Who Are They?

Minister of Defense (Menhan) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin 

Minister of Defense (Menhan) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin revealed that so far many people have been able to freely enter and leave airports and ports in mining commodity producing areas without going through adequate checks. 

This is due to a weak monitoring system, especially in areas producing strategic natural resources such as nickel and bauxite. 

Sjafrie expressed his disappointment with the lax security procedures that have led to widespread illegal practices in the mining sector. He said that many parties have felt safe carrying illegal goods because they are used to the absence of strict inspections from authorities in the field. 

"We have very large nickel. We have very large bauxite. But what happens is that people leave the port without being checked. People leave the airport without being checked," said Sjafrie in a public lecture at Hasanuddin University, Makassar, quoted on Wednesday (10/12/2025). 

Sjafrie explained that when the government started controlling and tightening regulations, many smugglers were eventually caught red-handed. According to him, they were caught because they were still using the old mindset and did not realize that the government was now aggressively enforcing economic sovereignty through strict supervision. 

"As soon as we carried out disciplinary measures, we carried out inspections, people who usually passed without inspection still felt that there was no inspection. One day he passed by carrying his illegal goods. "Hold on to the officer, apparently he forgot that there was an inspection today," he added. 

As a result, the country suffered fantastic financial losses, reaching hundreds of billions of US dollars, due to the actions of "covered enemies" who did not want the Indonesian economy to recover. 

This is due to weak supervision and the practice of manipulating trade data or under invoicing which has been going on for the last two decades. 

"So we are facing a hidden enemy who doesn't want our country to revive its economy. It has been under-invoiced for 20 years. This is information for ladies and gentlemen. Approximately US$ 800 billion in state losses," he stressed. 

(Sc: CNBC Indonesia)