Chair of Commission XI says rupiah decline is not as severe as in 1998
Yogyakarta — ANTARA
Chairman of Commission XI of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Mukhamad Misbakhun, said that the depreciation of the rupiah against the United States dollar at present cannot be directly equated with the economic crisis of 1998.
The remark was made during the session “1 on 1 Legislative with Mukhamad Misbakhun” at Jogja Financial Festival 2026 organised by the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) at Jogja Expo Center in Yogyakarta, on Saturday.
“We must reassure the Indonesian people that the rupiah against the US dollar at Rp17,800 is indeed a phenomenon. It is a very high figure for now, but remember the rupiah today may have once matched the 1998 crisis,” Misbakhun said.
He explained that the depreciation of the rupiah in 1998 occurred from a different starting point and under an economic structure that differs from today.
“The rupiah at Rp17,500–Rp17,800 during the 1998 crisis started from around Rp2,400. The rupiah is now at around Rp16,600, up from around Rp16,000. Our economic structure now is different,” he said.
Misbakhun noted that in 1998 many sectors faced heavy pressures, among them due to foreign-currency-denominated loans and inadequate hedging practices.
He assessed that the current conditions are different because the pressures on the rupiah do not automatically cause failures in the banking sector or private sector as occurred during the 1998 crisis.
“Now the rupiah is Rp17,600; there has been no banking or private sector failure yet. The challenge today is not only to maintain economic stability but also to build public understanding so that people are not easily influenced by sentiments spreading on social media,” he said.
He added that public perception of economic conditions can be shaped by information that does not always fully reflect reality.
“Our sentiment today is determined by social media. Our way of looking at things is influenced by what we see on social media,” he concluded.