Former Finance Minister Fuad Bawazier Warns Prabowo About Oligarchs Playing the Rupiah-Dollar Exchange Rate
Former Finance Minister Fuad Bawazier highlighted the weakening of the Rupiah against the US Dollar and touched on allegations of exchange rate manipulation by oligarchic groups, which he believes still influence national economic policy even under President Prabowo Subianto. He said this while speaking at the Saturday Assembly in South Jakarta, June 6, 2026.
Fuad linked the situation to the economic crisis leading up to the fall of President Soeharto and the era of B.J. Habibie. "Interest rates were raised, banks got even sicker. People couldn't pay anymore. Projects stopped, unemployment rose," he said. He reckons the strengthening of the Rupiah after Habibie happened once certain political objectives were achieved.
He believes the Prabowo administration will try to fix the economy so that the turmoil of 1998 doesn't happen again. "If they succeed, that's a threat to them (the oligarchs). On the other hand, if they manage to shake the Rupiah, that's a danger for Prabowo," he said. Fuad gave the example of Saudi Arabia's currency stability, supported by consolidated export proceeds, and proposed that a larger share of Indonesia's export earnings enter the national system.
Fuad also criticized the management of natural resources, which he sees as still a mess, with some export proceeds not fully recorded domestically. "In fact, these natural resources should be controlled by the state according to Article 33 (of the 1945 Constitution)," he stressed.
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