DPR Urges Dollar to Be Pushed Down to Around Rp16,000 per US dollar — Here’s Why
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Chair of Commission XI of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI), M. Misbakhun, has urged Bank Indonesia (BI) to work hard to bring the rupiah back to around Rp16,000 per US dollar. He made the remarks during a working hearing with BI Governor Perry Warjiyo and officials at the DPR/MPR complex in Jakarta yesterday (18 May 2026).
Chairman Misbakhun reminded BI of the importance of safeguarding the political agreement related to macroeconomic assumptions, particularly the rupiah exchange rate that has been agreed with the government and the DPR. In his view, the exchange-rate assumption in the state budget is not merely a technical figure but a form of political legitimacy that must be preserved by the monetary authorities.
He said BI should demonstrate concrete steps to ensure the rupiah moves in line with the agreed assumptions. To date, he noted, the rupiah’s average level has never touched the target level in those macro assumptions.
“The political agreement on the exchange rate, on average, for this year is at 16,500 Rupiah. Please maintain and respect that decision that this political agreement stands at 16,500,” Misbakhun said at the Working Meeting of Commission XI with BI Governor at Nusantara I, Senayan, Jakarta, quoted on Tuesday (19 May 2026).
According to Misbakhun, the situation poses a serious challenge for BI, particularly because the rupiah is currently in the Rp17,000 per US dollar range. He said extraordinary efforts are required for the target average exchange rate to be achieved by year-end.
Misbakhun also warned that if the rupiah moves far above its assumed level, stabilising the exchange rate will be difficult. Meanwhile, the pass-through of a weaker rupiah would affect several aspects of the economy and people’s purchasing power, including inflation, economic growth and purchasing power.
In the meeting, Misbakhun also referred to Indonesia’s experience during the monetary crisis of 1998-1999. In his view, the rupiah had strengthened significantly even when the country’s economic fundamentals were under heavy pressure due to a multidimensional crisis.
“The rupiah has, in history, moved even when our economic fundamentals were under pressure and we were in a very deep crisis. In 1998-1999, in a short period, the rupiah was around Rp6,000. The era of Mr Habibie,” the Golkar legislator stated.
Unsurprisingly, Misbakhun says this demonstrates that rupiah movements are not always determined entirely by fundamentals. Therefore, he questioned the policy formulations currently used by authorities to maintain exchange-rate stability amid global pressures and market sentiment.
Source on Google [Gambas:Video CNBC]