Jakarta - Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi held a limited meeting (ratas) to discuss the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate at Wisma Negara, Presidential Palace Complex, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (21/1/2026). The meeting was attended by Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo.
Purbaya said that one of the focuses of the discussion was to ensure the right policy measures to maintain the stability of the rupiah exchange rate. This follows the weakening of the rupiah, which is approaching the level of Rp17,000 per US dollar. ‘Earlier, the BI Governor was present, and we synchronised our policies. I will fix the fiscal and economic aspects, while the BI Governor will ensure the necessary measures are taken to maintain the exchange rate,’ said Purbaya after the meeting.
The State Treasurer admitted that he would fix national fiscal and economic issues, while the central bank would ensure that the necessary measures were taken to maintain the rupiah exchange rate.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said the recent weakening of the rupiah exchange rate, which almost reached Rp17,000 per US dollar, was caused by global and domestic factors.
However, the Central Bank ensured that the country's foreign exchange reserves were still sufficient to stabilise the exchange rate in the future, he said at a press conference of the BI Board of Governors Meeting on Wednesday (21/1/2026).
He explained that from a global perspective, the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate was caused by geopolitical conditions and Trump's reciprocal tariff policy. In addition, there has been a phenomenon of capital outflows from developing countries to developed countries. ‘As we mentioned earlier, in 2026 there was a net outflow of USD 1.6 billion, based on data up to 19 January 2026,’ he added.
There are Efforts to Hinder 8 Percent Growth
On a separate occasion, Benny Batara Tumpal Hutabarat, Founder of Bennix Investor Group, spoke about efforts to structurally destroy the Indonesian economy, including the cause of the weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar. "Those influencers say that the rupiah weakened to 17,000 because there was dollar hedging of up to 85 million dollars. That's nonsense, right? The rupiah weakened because someone sold SRBI (Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities) and SBN (Government Securities) worth up to 650 million dollars, that's why the rupiah weakened, it's a simple explanation!‘ said Benny via his YouTube channel ’Negara Dikhianati!!! 200 Trillion Purbaya Vanished!! on Wednesday (21/1/2026).
According to Benny Hutabarat, in order to achieve 8 per cent economic growth, there must be synchronisation between the monetary and fiscal authorities, namely Bank Indonesia and the Ministry of Finance.
There are two scenarios that the state must take in order to pursue high economic growth. First, the BI rate must be below 4 per cent and the SBDK (basic credit interest rate) must be below 8 per cent (Himbara and national private banks). "So if people borrow from banks at an interest rate of 12 per cent, that's crazy! If the SBDK is below 8 per cent, I am sure that the impact on credit interest rates could reach 10 per cent, not just 7 per cent," said Benny.
"Ultimately, economic growth could reach 6.5 per cent, and as for whether the pound sterling will weaken, I am sure that it will depreciate by 2-4 per cent. It's okay, it can still be controlled. Inflation may rise slightly by 0.3-0.5 per cent because it is still below 4 per cent. Vietnam is also willing to pay the price of its economy rising, interest rates falling, and the consequence of inflation," said Benny.
In fact, over the past five years, the Vietnamese Dong has weakened against the US dollar by almost 15 per cent.
As reported by AFP, in 2020 the US Treasury Department accused Vietnam of intervening in the currency market to weaken its Dong currency, which the IMF assessed as being undervalued by around 8.4 per cent in 2018.
They accused Vietnam of interfering in the foreign exchange market to artificially weaken its own currency. ‘It's normal for Vietnam and even China to deliberately strengthen the dollar because they want to become export masters, and in fact, they have become exporting countries,’ said the founder of Bennix Investor Group.
‘Once the economy shifts to being export-based rather than import or consumption-based, you should be happy. For example, if you export cendol at 1 dollar for 15,000 rupiah, but because the rupiah weakens to 20,000, you'll definitely be happy. So, if Indonesia wants to become a developed country, it must be export-based. If our goods are to sell, then our currency must weaken,’ added Benny.
Therefore, said Benny, the government must subsidise export-oriented industries (manufacturing and services) that can bring in foreign exchange. The government's task is to provide credit subsidies. The reason is that Vietnam has the courage to allow its currency to weaken. Export entrepreneurs will certainly become richer with the strengthening of the dollar, and the country's income will also increase.
Benny suggested that the current situation is being orchestrated by the oligarchy, who insist that raw materials must be imported for the sake of multiplying profits. ‘Because tempeh is imported using dollars, we will no longer be able to cope with inflation due to high prices. Eventually, the people will protest. Yes, the people have been manipulated by foreigners so that they remain loyal to foreign products,’ said Benny emphatically.
Fortunately, according to him, during President Prabowo's era, food self-sufficiency has begun, and it is only a matter of time before energy self-sufficiency is achieved. Thus, the opportunity to become a net exporter is increasingly open as long as currency control is measured and directed, as in Vietnam.
The second scenario, according to Benny, is that the Central Bank must aggressively lower interest rates by up to 200 basis points. The target is a basic lending rate of five percent so that credit distribution in the community can grow by 12-15 percent. "So banks disburse credit to the lower classes, simple, take the difference. The difference between deposit and lending rates is the profit, don't save it in the sky, enriching the bankers," he said.
"If we can bring the SBDK below five per cent, ultimately investment will rise sharply. So there's no need to fear (property manufacturing will thrive) and economic growth could exceed 7.5 per cent, even 8 per cent. But there's a price to pay—the rupiah will weaken by 6-10 per cent. That's okay because we've become an export-based country. Other risks include short-term capital outflows and inflation rising by 0.8-1.2 per cent," Benny explained.
According to Benny, if Indonesia remains an oil-importing country from Singapore to Saudi Arabia, this country could collapse. For the economy to survive, it must be able to substitute imported goods and increase the number of electric vehicles. Indonesia has sufficient raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.
He believes that the 8 percent growth target is very achievable with the courage to sacrifice short-term stability, as Vietnam has done. (InfoPublik)