Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto revealed he had rejected all defense contracts involving his family members during his tenure as defense minister to prevent conflicts of interest and uphold integrity in government procurement.

“When I became defense minister, I called my relatives and told them, ‘You cannot approach me for anything related to defense contracts. If your name appears, I will reject it,’” he said during a dialogue with Steve Forbes at the Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025 in Jakarta on Wednesday night (15/10/2025), as quoted by antaranews.com.

He recounted that months later, one of his nephews attempted to submit a defense project proposal, which he immediately declined. President Prabowo later instructed officials at the Defense Ministry to reject two shortlisted companies linked to his relatives.

“I refused all of them. It was not easy, but it had to be done to set an example,” he said. The President likened corruption to “cancer at stage four” that must be prevented before it spreads.