Governor Urges Vigilance on Global Pressures Despite DIY's 5.84% Economic Growth
Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, has reminded regional authorities to remain vigilant against various global challenges, even though DIY’s economy grew 5.84 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
“Global and domestic pressures have the potential to trigger inflation, erode purchasing power, and make the lower middle class vulnerable to falling into poverty,” said Sri Sultan at the DIY Second Quarter 2026 Regional Control Coordination Meeting (Rakordal) in Yogyakarta on Thursday.
According to Sri Sultan, DIY’s economic growth of 5.84 per cent, which exceeded both the national and Java averages, was supported by increased activity in the tourism sector, with inflation still within the target range.
However, the Governor said that global geopolitical uncertainty, the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate, rising energy and raw material prices, and the potential for drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon must be anticipated early.
“If not anticipated, these conditions can increase poverty and inequality as well as slow social mobility,” he said.
To strengthen the targeting of poverty alleviation programmes, the DIY regional government launched the Abhipraya Data Management System as an instrument for integrating poverty databases, strengthening data governance to support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of various development interventions.
Sri Sultan said that, in line with the World Bank’s assertion that inequality hinders poverty reduction and economic growth, efforts to reduce poverty cannot rely on assistance programmes alone.
“This must be underpinned by data-driven, integrated development governance to minimise inclusion and exclusion errors so that government interventions remain precisely targeted,” he said.
The DIY Governor also reminded of the importance of maintaining inflation stability, particularly food prices, through strengthening the 4K strategy (supply availability, price affordability, smooth distribution, and effective communication) by the Regional Inflation Control Team (TPID).
“Price surges act as a regressive tax that directly erodes the purchasing power of low-income communities, cripples the effectiveness of social assistance, and widens the gap of economic inequality,” he said.