Why Prabowo’s push for clay roofs in ‘rusty’ Indonesia may face a brick wall

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has called for a nationwide drive to replace corrugated zinc roofs with clay tiles, saying he wants to shed what he describes as a “rusty” image while cooling homes, reviving a struggling industry and boosting the country’s appeal to tourists. But analysts warn that the plan – dubbed gentengisasi, or “mass roofing” – could burden the environment, require costly structural upgrades and face resistance outside Java island. “I see in all our cities,...