Soap Opera Star Turned Lawmaker Demands Exit of Indonesia Central Bank Chief as Rupiah Crumbles

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — A prominent Indonesian lawmaker and former television celebrity has demanded the resignation of the country’s central bank governor during a tense parliamentary hearing on Monday, as the nation's currency spiraled to a historic low against the U.S. dollar.

The political theater unfolded inside a packed House of Representatives (DPR) Commission XI briefing room, where legislators confronted Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo over the Rupiah’s sudden depreciation. The currency weakened 0.36% on Monday morning to trade at Rp 17,660 per dollar, according to Bloomberg data, before hitting an intraday psychological low of Rp 17,700 on global trading platforms.

"Mr. Perry, with all due respect, taking a gentlemanly action is not an insult," stated Primus Yustisio, a member of parliament representing the National Mandate Party (PAN), during the live committee hearing on Monday. "Perhaps it is time for you to step down. Of course, the ultimate decision rests with you, but you would command greater respect, much like public officials in Japan or South Korea, if you admit you can no longer perform your duties effectively."

Primus is widely known across Southeast Asia’s largest economy for his previous career as a prominent actor, specifically starring as the titular superhero in the hit sci-fi television series "Panji Manusia Milenium" (Panji the Millennium Man) from 1999 to 2001.

The political pressure building against Indonesia's central bank highlights a deeper structural crisis racking Southeast Asia's premier emerging market. Despite booking a robust annualized GDP growth rate of 5.61%, local financial architecture is fracturing under the weight of aggressive foreign capital flight. This economic divergence underscores how quickly global index rebalancing and geopolitical supply shocks can override strong domestic growth, leaving central bankers vulnerable to populist backlash when imported inflation begins to squeeze local businesses.

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The Index Provider Backlash

The currency rout has been exacerbated by a simultaneous equity market meltdown. Market participants point to a coordinated regulatory pushback from global index providers MSCI and FTSE Russell, which have frozen Indonesia's market weightings and systematically deleted several large-cap equities. The exclusions stem from regulatory concerns regarding high shareholding concentration and thin public floats among top-tier conglomerates, triggering an automatic liquidation of Indonesian assets by passive global funds.

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The massive capital flight has completely offset Bank Indonesia’s aggressive market interventions. Lawmakers noted on Monday that the central bank has aggressively deployed its foreign exchange reserves, inflated yields on its flagship Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities (SRBI) to 6.41%, and severely restricted corporate dollar purchases from $50,000 down to $25,000 per transaction.

"The central bank has exhausted its credibility, and as the leading figure, you must be brave enough to confront why our currency continues to weaken against every major peer," Primus argued during the parliamentary session.

Corporate Margins Under Fire

Outside the legislative chambers, the real economy is beginning to feel the pain. The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) warned on Monday afternoon that the currency depreciation is creating severe, externally driven cost pressures that threaten the country's industrial backbone.

"The steepest pressure is being borne by manufacturing subsectors that carry a 70% structural reliance on imported raw materials and foreign energy," Shinta Kamdani, the Chairwoman of Apindo, stated in an interview on Monday.

Shinta pointed out that the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz amidst escalating Middle East hostilities has pushed global crude oil prices past $100 per barrel. This logistics crisis has sent the cost of industrial naphtha soaring over 92% since January, forcing a staggering 100% retail price spike in certain commercial plastic packaging segments. Government data confirms that the broader manufacturing sector contracted by 1.01% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, signaling an industrial slowdown.

The Executive Disconnect

Despite the escalating alarm in parliament and corporate boardrooms, the executive branch remains defiantly optimistic. Over the weekend, President Prabowo Subianto brushed off the currency depreciation during a rural development tour in East Java, framing the dollar anxiety as a localized headache for international jet-setters and corporate titans.

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"The everyday people in the villages don't use dollars anyway," President Subianto told a rural crowd on Saturday during a museum dedication in Nganjuk. "Our food lines are secure, and our energy supply is protected."

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa echoed the President's calm posture, characterizing the market crash as a short-term psychological panic. To counter the currency drop, Minister Sadewa announced Monday morning that the government will aggressively scale up equity and debt purchases through its specialized Bond Stabilization Fund (BSF) to cushion foreign asset managers against capital losses.

"The economic foundation is solid," Purbaya stated on Monday following a military event at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base. "This is purely short-term sentiment, and we will focus entirely on protecting our economic development."