Prabowo Criticized Over Weak Rupiah Remarks

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto often makes controversial statements in his various speeches. Most recently, he mentioned that even though the exchange rate of the rupiah weakened against the US dollar, it did not affect the villagers. His reason was that, according to him, villagers do not use dollars.

Prabowo made this statement during a speech at the launch of the Red-and-White Cooperative outlet in Nganjuk, East Java, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. The Head of State urged the public not to worry about the rupiah's situation, which had crossed the Rp17,500 mark per US dollar. "As long as Purbaya (Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa) can smile, there's no need to worry. No matter how many dollars, they are not used in the villages," he said.

This statement by the Chair of the Gerindra Party sparked criticism from various circles, one of them being the Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Andalas University, Syafruddin Karimi. He saw the statement as an attempt to calm public psyche. Panic can worsen exchange rate pressure. However, he believed that public calmness should not be built on oversimplifying the issue.

"Indeed, villagers do not use dollars in markets, shops, rice fields, or animal pens. Nonetheless, they still live within a national pricing system that is heavily influenced by the dollar," he said.

According to Syafruddin, the impact of the weakening rupiah against the dollar could indirectly be felt by village communities. When the Indonesian currency weakens, the costs of imported oil and gas (migas), fertilizers, animal feed, pesticides, medicines, agricultural tools, plastic packaging, and imported consumer goods also rise.

These cost increases move through the distribution chain, namely ports, warehouses, distributors, trucks, district markets, farmer kiosks, and then rural households. "Hence, the village does not need to pay in dollars to feel the impact of the dollar," he said.

Another statement by Prabowo, for example, is about Indonesia being a familial country. This was expressed by Prabowo in his speech at the inauguration of the Ibu Marsinah Museum and Rumah Singgah in Nganjuk, East Java. Prabowo called on entrepreneurs to become part of Indonesia Incorporated or this familial country.

"Actually, Indonesia Incorporated means a familial country. So, all the people in this country are part of one corporation," said the head of state.

He also stated that the Indonesian people are shareholders of all the nation's assets and wealth. He emphasized that all leaders in every layer of society should fight for the people's rights to the country's wealth.

"Not the other way around. Not leaders, not officials, not those elected, collaborating to eliminate the people's rights to the entire wealth of Indonesia. My dear compatriots, this is our collective struggle," said Prabowo.

Ilona Estherina, Ervana Trikarina Putri, and Sultan Abdurrahman contributed to the writing of this article.

Read: Is Prabowo Right That Villagers Don't Use Dollars?

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