‘Villagers Don’t Use Dollars’: President Prabowo Brushes Off Rupiah’s Plunge to 17,600

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — President Prabowo Subianto has forcefully pushed back against market anxieties surrounding the Indonesian rupiah’s recent tumble to Rp 17,600 per U.S. dollar, telling critics to halt warnings of a looming financial collapse. Speaking at a series of massive rural development events in East Java on Saturday, the President declared that the macroeconomic panic remains confined to wealthy urban elites and global travelers, while the real domestic economy remains insulated.

The President's blunt rhetoric serves as a masterclass in political populist signaling, intentionally aimed at calming domestic consumer sentiment and stopping speculative hoarding of foreign currency. By framing the dollar’s surge as a headache exclusive to multinational corporate titans and jet-setting politicians, Prabowo is attempting to anchor public confidence around the country's massive agricultural and energy stockpiles. However, for foreign portfolio investors, this defiant posture signals that the executive branch will focus heavily on domestic market shields, potentially leaving Bank Indonesia to handle currency defense through aggressive monetary tools.

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Dismissing the Collapse Narrative

The President expressed deep skepticism toward the persistent doom-and-gloom projections dominating international financial commentary. "Lately, there is always someone saying—I don't even understand it—every few moments that Indonesia will collapse, will face chaos, because the rupiah is doing this and the dollar is doing that," Prabowo stated on Saturday during the dedication of the Marsinah Museum in Nganjuk.

Prabowo flatly rejected those theories, reminding the audience that the vast majority of the country's population lives completely outside the dollar ecosystem. "The everyday people in the villages don't use dollars anyway," he pointed out. "Our food is secure, our energy is secure."

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Confidence in Financial Leadership

The President doubled down on his economic optimism during a subsequent speech to launch 1,061 Merah Putih Village Cooperatives, where he publicly bantered with his finance chief, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. Prabowo signaled to global markets that the country's fiscal levers are in highly competent hands, using humor to defuse market tension.

"Purbaya is highly popular right now," Prabowo joked to the crowd. "As long as Purbaya can still smile, just stay calm. You don't need to worry about it."

He continued his high-spirited speech by teasing wealthy politicians, corporate leaders, and business tycoons—including Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Chairman Anindya Bakrie and prominent lawmakers—who frequently trade in foreign currencies. "The people who are getting a headache are the ones who love going abroad," the President quipped on Saturday. "No matter what the dollar rate is, you in the villages don’t use it. Anindiya, you can be dizzy, you are a businessman, the head of Kadin."

Unyielding Macro Fundamentals

Beneath the lighthearted banter, Prabowo delivered a stern, unyielding defense of Indonesia’s long-term macro trajectory, telling citizens to rely on internal capacity rather than foreign market sentiment. "Trust me, our economy is strong, our fundamentals are strong," the President asserted. "People can say whatever they want to say, but Indonesia is strong. Trust in our own strength, trust in our people."

To secure this internal strength amid a fracturing global landscape, Prabowo reiterated that Indonesia will maintain its fiercely independent, non-aligned "free and active" foreign policy. He concluded by stating that the nation refuses to engage in foreign conflicts or inherit geopolitical rivalries, choosing instead to focus entirely on domestic industrial growth and regional cooperation.