Jakarta, July 24 -- Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka on Thursday reaffirmed that frankincense is a highly valuable commodity-comparable to nickel-and fired back at critics for downplaying its economic potential.

Speaking at the Green Impact Festival 2025 in Jakarta, he expressed the government's ambition to downstream frankincense into higher-value products, especially perfume.

"Does anyone here use perfume? That product is made from frankincense. In other words, frankincense is not just associated with shamans. It puzzles me to see people stirring up debates after I highlighted frankincense, and even artificial intelligence," Gibran said.

His remarks came in response to mockery he received following a speech at the National Resil...