Facing Global Economic Challenges, All Elements of the Nation Urged to Emphasise Unity and Solidarity
Indonesia’s financial and capital markets are currently facing various challenges, from the plummeting value of the rupiah to a sharp drop in the Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) to around 6,700 following the latest Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) rebalancing announcement.
Yet, on one hand, Indonesia’s economic growth in the first quarter of 2026 achieved a positive record of 5.61 per cent, marking the best performance in the last 10 years.
Therefore, Member of the DPR RI Commission XI, Ahmad Najib Qodratullah, considers it essential at this time to prioritise unity and solidarity among the nation’s children to address the economic impacts arising from global uncertainties.
Najib emphasised that a sense of unity and solidarity is crucial to prevent disruptions from external parties who are displeased with various positive achievements, such as Indonesia’s economic growth.
“Indonesia is one of the countries in the world with rapid growth. When a country’s economy rises, what is contested is not just the domestic market, access to raw materials, logistics routes, political influence, technology control, and regional alliances,” said Najib in his statement on Wednesday, 13 May 2026.
Furthermore, Najib revealed that Indonesia currently holds strategic value due to possessing three key aspects simultaneously: a large population, natural resources such as nickel, coal, and palm oil, as well as a strategic maritime position from the Asia-Pacific Land Bridge Initiative (ALKI), the Malacca Strait, to the Indo-Pacific route.
“So if the economy grows steadily, Indonesia becomes increasingly important in the map of competition between the United States, China, and other regional powers,” he stated.
However, Najib did not deny that the most realistic form of disruption to Indonesia is not invasion, but rather that Indonesia often experiences non-conventional disruptions.
“For example, economic pressures such as trade barriers, commodity boycott campaigns, manipulation of export commodity prices, and relocation of investments to competing countries,” said Najib.
“Indonesia is highly dependent on commodity exports. If energy prices fluctuate, the effects are quickly felt on the fiscal budget and the rupiah,” he added.
In addition, other non-conventional disruptions include information interventions such as social media disinformation, division over religious/ethnic issues, steering of anti-government opinions, and market sentiments through rumours.