Palace Denies Chatib Basri to Replace Purbaya
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi has stated that there are no plans for a reshuffle within President Prabowo Subianto’s ‘Merah Putih’ cabinet. He denied rumours suggesting that Muhammad Chatib Basri is set to replace Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa as Finance Minister.
“There is no plan to change the Finance Minister. We have stated many times that there is no plan for a reshuffle,” he said at the DPR complex in Jakarta on Monday, 8 June 2026.
Reports of a change in the Finance Minister have recently become a topic of public discussion alongside the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate. Chatib Basri, an economist and former Finance Minister, has been one of the names emerging in these discussions.
Prasetyo urged the public not to speculate or link reshuffle rumours to specific figures. He noted that President Prabowo Subianto will certainly inform the public regarding any cabinet restructuring. “It is not just for one ministry; if the President feels there is a need for refreshment or change at the appropriate time, it will be announced,” said the Gerindra Party politician.
He added that Indonesia currently requires close and intensive coordination between the Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, and the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Furthermore, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and its subordinate ministers are also deemed to require more intensive coordination.
In a separate instance, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa denied reports claiming he intends to resign from the Merah Putih Cabinet. This statement was in response to rumours of his resignation amidst the depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar.
Purbaya noted that the weakening of the rupiah would impact the increase in the amount of debt the government must service. He mentioned that the coupons or yields paid by the government are at a fixed rate.
“This is still within the range of our previous calculations,” he said when met at the DPR Building on Thursday, 4 June 2026. The former Chairman of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) explained that the government has conducted simulations for scenarios involving rising crude oil prices, noting that the rupiah exchange rate assumption in the 2026 State Budget (APBN) is Rp 16,500 per US dollar.