INDOPOSCO.ID – Political analyst Hendri Satrio interprets President Prabowo Subianto’s praise for the performance of the Red and White Cabinet as a strategy to maintain team morale, rather than a final assessment of the administration’s first two years.
According to Hendri, widely known as Hensa, presidential recognition is necessary to ensure ministers remain confident in carrying out their duties. However, praise does not mean that all tasks have been completed.
“He needs to maintain his team’s confidence and belief. If the team loses confidence, things could fall apart. So this is what he can do, and it’s a good thing,” Hensa said in a phone interview on Friday (October 23, 2026).
Hensa compared Prabowo to a football coach who would not publicly humiliate his players. Evaluations, he said, should be conducted behind closed doors so that improvements can be made without undermining the team’s confidence.
“What coach would tell the players in the locker room that his team is bad? No one. You praise them first, give them a hug first. The evaluation comes later, behind closed doors. Hopefully, there really is an evaluation. I’m sure there must be,” he said.
However, one word in Prabowo’s statement caught Hensa’s attention: “cukup,” or “quite.” The president described the cabinet’s performance over the past two years as “quite impressive,” rather than “very impressive.” Hensa said the choice of words could be interpreted as both an expression of appreciation and a subtle reminder that the government still has a substantial amount of work to do.
“Listen carefully. At the time, Mr. Prabowo said ‘quite impressive,’ not ‘very impressive.’ To me, that is a president’s subtle way of saying, ‘Not bad, but there’s still a lot of homework to do,’” explained the founder of the KedaiKOPI survey institute.
He also cautioned ministers and heads of government agencies against treating the praise as a reason for complacency. Recognition, he said, should motivate them to improve their performance rather than lull them into a false sense of accomplishment.
“The president’s praise is like a vitamin for ministers. But it must not turn into a sleeping pill. They should also realize that their performance is being defended once again,” he said.
For Hensa, the cabinet’s success cannot be measured solely by the president’s assessment. The impact of government policies on people’s daily lives provides a more concrete benchmark.
“Mr. Prabowo is the one who says the performance is impressive, and he is certainly entitled to that opinion. But ‘impressive’ is an adjective. What people need are action words, such as affordable prices, available jobs, food on the table, and policies that address the needs of the middle class. If the people are proud too, there is no need to announce it. It will show up in the surveys,” he explained.
Hensa also commented on Prabowo’s football analogy, which the president used when urging officials who had yet to play a significant role not to become frustrated. According to Hensa, the sheer size of the cabinet means the president must continually motivate his team.
“The cabinet is indeed like a football team. The difference is that the bench is extremely long. It is understandable that the coach has to keep encouraging the players so that those sitting on the bench do not get upset,” Hensa said.
He believes the administration’s first two years can still be viewed as a warm-up period. However, the remaining three years must be used to deliver tangible results that people can actually feel in their daily lives.
“Let’s consider the first two years a warm-up. The remaining three years are when they have to score goals. The spectators in the stands are patient, but their patience has limits,” he added. (her)
