Misbakhun Defends Prabowo Over 'People in Rural Areas Not Using the Dollar', Says It Is To Calm Public Panic

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Chairman of Commission XI of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mukhamad Misbakhun, said President Prabowo Subianto’s remark that rural people do not use the US dollar is not a negative statement. The remark was made solely to calm the public amid fluctuations in the rupiah against the US dollar. It should be noted that during May 2026, the rupiah repeatedly hit record lows. From falling to Rp 17,400 on 5 May, to Rp 17,500 on 12 May, and weakening further to Rp 17,600 on 15 May and beyond. This has sparked public panic. ‘What the President said is an effort to reassure the public. Do not read it too literally. The President’s aim is to calm the public,’ he said when asked at the House of Representatives building in Jakarta, on Monday (18 May 2026). Therefore, the rupiah’s depreciation, currently at around Rp 17,600 per US dollar, cannot be equated with the economic crisis of 1998, which briefly touched Rp 17,000 per dollar from around Rp 2,450 per dollar. ‘Do not compare the current exchange rate with the rate ahead of the 1998 crisis. Because the composition of our economy now is very different from the composition and structure of the Indonesian economy approaching 1998,’ he noted. However, the main goal remains to maintain the public’s psychological stability to avoid panic when facing the rupiah’s depreciation. Also, do not let the issue be pitted between the rich and the poor. ‘Let us not let political instability arise because people are busy discussing rumours like this. The rupiah will rise because of this, that, and the other,’ he said.