Measuring the Effectiveness of Prabowo's New Strategies to Tackle Poverty
By Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nur Rianto Al Arif, S.E., M.Si., CRP., CIB., CFP.
Professor at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta and Secretary-General of the Indonesian Lecturers Association (DPP Asosiasi Dosen Indonesia)
Poverty is a multidimensional problem requiring a cross-sectoral approach. Amidst persistent social and economic inequality gripping a large portion of Indonesian society, President Prabowo Subianto is championing a more operational, concrete, and grassroots-based approach.
President Prabowo Subianto, as revealed by the Head of the Presidential Communication Office, is set to launch three priority programs. These three programs are Sekolah Rakyat (People's Schools), free health check services in schools, and Koperasi Merah Putih (Red and White Cooperatives). These programs are designed not just as campaign promises, but as systemic instruments to build the foundation for equitable welfare and poverty alleviation from upstream to downstream.
This article attempts to delve deeper into how these three key programs—Sekolah Rakyat, free health services in educational environments, and Koperasi Merah Putih—are designed to synergize in driving socio-economic transformation in Indonesia. These are not partial programs but part of Prabowo's grand design to eradicate poverty structurally, socio-culturally, and sustainably.
Poverty in Indonesia is not merely a matter of lack of income but a combination of various factors: low access to quality education, limited preventive health services, unequal distribution of assets and capital, and weak local economic empowerment. Facing such multidimensional challenges requires an approach that directly targets the root causes with integrative and sustainable policies. This is where the ideas of Sekolah Rakyat, free health checks in schools, and Koperasi Merah Putih find their relevance.
Sekolah Rakyat: Education for All
Sekolah Rakyat is a concrete manifestation of the ideal of inclusive education, often advocated but rarely fully implemented. In Prabowo's vision, education is the primary instrument for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Sekolah Rakyat is designed to be present in disadvantaged areas, rural areas, and pockets of poverty, from coastal regions to remote interiors, from Sabang to Merauke.
This school model is free of charge, open to all Indonesian children, and aims to minimize economic, geographical, and administrative barriers. More than just a place to learn, Sekolah Rakyat is a community empowerment center, where formal education, character building, and life skills training converge.
Sekolah Rakyat will not only rely on the national curriculum but also be equipped with modules on entrepreneurship, agribusiness training, digital literacy strengthening, and economic independence. This is the differentiating factor for Sekolah Rakyat compared to conventional schools. Children from poor families are not only taught to be smart but also taught to be able to survive and build a living. In the long term, the output of Sekolah Rakyat is expected to be not only skilled labor but also local entrepreneurs, community leaders, and rural transformation agents. This program also opens avenues for collaboration with universities, NGOs, and the industrial world to create an adaptive, responsive, and directly impactful education ecosystem for poverty alleviation.
Free Health Checks in Schools
In Prabowo's vision, education and health are two sides of the same coin that cannot be separated. It is impossible for poor children to learn optimally if their health conditions are poor. Therefore, the program of free health checks in schools becomes highly strategic. The government targets all elementary and secondary schools, especially in 3T (disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost) areas, to have routine preventive health facilities and access.
These health checks are not only periodic but also integrated with nutritional status mapping, growth and development screening, early detection of infectious and non-communicable diseases, and education on healthy lifestyles. This program is run with a multi-sectoral approach: the Health Department provides medical personnel and screening tools, while the Education Department facilitates infrastructure and school involvement. Furthermore, collaboration with medical universities, regional hospitals, and posyandu (integrated health post) cadres is strengthened. The main goal is to build a culture of health awareness from an early age, identify children's health problems before they become chronic, and reduce future healthcare costs. Thus, this program is not just charity but a long-term investment in the quality of Indonesia's human resources.
Koperasi Merah Putih: People's Economy, a Pillar of Social Resilience
Koperasi Merah Putih (Red and White Cooperatives) are not ordinary cooperatives. They are a strategic initiative conceived to revive the spirit of mutual cooperation (gotong royong) and the people's economy as a basis for social defense amidst the onslaught of the free market economy. These cooperatives are directed to become community economic centers that provide affordable financing, entrepreneurship training, and a platform for distributing local MSME products.
Under President Prabowo's direction, Koperasi Merah Putih is also targeted to act as a bridge for financial inclusion, bringing communities closer to access to capital, micro-insurance, and economic digitalization. These cooperatives have features that differentiate them from old cooperatives: they are connected to national digital platforms, overseen by professional personnel, and synergized with Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) and village funds.
Through Koperasi Merah Putih, small farmers can buy cheap fertilizers and seeds, fishermen can gain access to cold storage, traders can obtain low-interest capital, and homemakers can sell processed products through the cooperative's marketplace. In fact, these cooperatives are designed to be linked with Sekolah Rakyat as providers of healthy food supplies and affordable learning tools.
In the long-term scheme, Koperasi Merah Putih will become the backbone of the village economy. They are not just economic institutions but also social institutions that bind communities through solidarity, efficiency, and self-reliance.
Synergy of Three Pillars in Poverty Alleviation
These three flagship programs—Sekolah Rakyat, free health services in schools, and Koperasi Merah Putih—are essentially a unified system. They support and strengthen each other. Healthy and intelligent poor children can attend school without burden. Productive schools produce new generations of workers and entrepreneurs. Cooperatives become economic facilitators that absorb labor and form an empowered ecosystem.Prabowo understands that poverty cannot be solved solely with social assistance. A transformational approach is needed to free communities from dependence. They are not just given fish, but also taught how to fish, invited to create ponds, and given access to sell their catch.
Of course, these programs are not without challenges. First, implementation on the ground will heavily depend on bureaucratic capacity and local political will. Local governments must be able to act as extensions of the national vision, rather than becoming obstacles with overlapping sectoral policies.
Second, funding and sustainability issues. Programs like Sekolah Rakyat and free health services require substantial state budget allocation. This is where fiscal reform and budget optimization become crucial. The government must also open avenues for public and private sector participation.
Third, digitalization and public literacy remain challenges. Without improved local human resource capacity, digital cooperative programs could end up as stalled projects. Therefore, financial and technological literacy education must be conducted simultaneously.
If executed correctly, President Prabowo's three new strategies could become a monumental development legacy. They would not only address today's poverty but also create a fairer socio-economic system for future generations. However, their effectiveness will be largely determined by consistent political will, strong public oversight, cross-sector collaboration, and continuously updated on-the-ground innovation. President Prabowo must ensure that his new strategies are not just campaign slogans but part of a policy revolution that bravely addresses the root of problems with an integrative and humanistic approach.
Ultimately, poverty alleviation is not just about aid distribution but about structural transformation and holistic human development. Liberating education, equitable healthcare, and a strong people's economy. These three are the fundamental foundations that must be consistently maintained and developed. Amidst global turmoil, digital inequality, and climate change challenges, this approach becomes important as an effort to strengthen national independence from within. Sekolah Rakyat, free health services in schools, and Koperasi Merah Putih are big dreams being written together. And that big dream now rests on the shoulders of all of us as citizens, as civil society, and as part of the republic.
(This article was published on news.detik.com on Sunday, July 13, 2025)