On the Weakening Rupiah, President Prabowo: People in Villages Don't Use Dollars...

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has responded to the trend of the rupiah exchange rate weakening against the US dollar.

This was conveyed during the inauguration of the Marsinah Museum in Nganjuk, East Java, on Saturday (16/5/2026).

Prabowo stated that people living in villages do not use US dollars much.

“I am sure there are always those who don’t understand. They keep saying Indonesia will collapse, there will be chaos, and so on. The rupiah is like this, the dollar is like that, but people in villages don’t use dollars,” he said, quoted from the KompasTV YouTube channel.

“Food is secure, energy is secure. Many countries are panicking, but Indonesia is still doing okay,” Prabowo added.

Meanwhile, Prabowo also commented on the weakening rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar during the inauguration of the operationalisation of 1,061 Merah Putih Village/Urban Cooperatives on Saturday (16/5/2026).

Prabowo revealed that the impact of the weakening rupiah would be more felt by people who often travel abroad.

“Whatever the value of the dollar, you in the villages don’t use dollars. It’s those who like to go abroad who are worried. Who is it?”

“Believe me, our economy is strong, our fundamentals are strong, whatever people say. Indonesia is strong, believe in our strength,” he added.

For information, the rupiah exchange rate on the spot market still closed lower on Friday (15/5/2026).

The Garuda currency weakened by 0.39 percent to IDR 17,597 per US dollar.

Currency and Commodity Analyst, Ibrahim Assuaibi, said that the weakening of the rupiah was triggered by a combination of external and domestic sentiments, ranging from rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, strengthening of the US dollar to high interest rate trends.

“External conditions are causing the dollar to strengthen, then oil prices are also rising and this has an impact on the weakening of the rupiah,” said Ibrahim in his statement on Friday (15/5/2026).