Purbaya Provides Evidence that Indonesians are Now Back in the Money
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa believes that society now has improving purchasing power. This is evident from the rapid growth in household consumption, which is driving the economy in the first quarter of 2026.
With economic growth in Q1 2026 reaching 5.61% year-on-year, the highest since Q3 2022, household consumption grew by 5.52%, making the most dominant contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) at 54.36%.
“You see how much household consumption growth is? 5.52%, right? The highest throughout what I’ve seen, what I remember. This means society’s purchasing power is also improving,” said Purbaya at his office, quoted on Tuesday (12/5/2026).
According to Purbaya, the rapid household consumption in the first three months of this year is not solely driven by seasonal factors such as Ramadan or Eid. Because if society lacks funds for shopping, he considers those seasonal factors unable to serve as a booster as they did in the same period last year.
“So even if there’s the Eid seasonal factor, if there’s no money, there’s no money. The economy is bad, well, the economy remains bad. But this isn’t perfect yet, but don’t say there’s no progress,” explained Purbaya.
He also revealed several factors driving the improvement in Indonesians’ wallets. One of them is the success of his policy in maintaining economic liquidity or primary money (M0).
He implemented that policy by placing government funds that had been idle at Bank Indonesia (BI) in the form of Excess Budget Balance (SAL) to the State-Owned Banks Consortium (Himbara) since September 2025. The total value is around Rp300 trillion.
Then, by disbursing state expenditure that is no longer focused at year-end. As of March 2026, state expenditure has been realised at Rp815 trillion or 21.2% of the budget allocation in the 2026 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) worth Rp3,842.7 trillion. This realisation grew 31.4% year-on-year (yoy).
“I’m maintaining liquidity so that the private sector can move. I’m encouraging government spending in the first trimester to be accelerated, so the economic push is more even throughout the year,” said Purbaya.
In addition, Purbaya said the government has now also accelerated subsidy and compensation payments to state-owned enterprises such as PT Pertamina and Pupuk Indonesia. He claims that policy provides a ripple effect on accelerating payments to contractors who are business partners of SOEs.
“Last year, did Pertamina have enough money? No. So if Pertamina is paid on time, all subcontractors will also be paid on time, that will also circulate the economy,” he explained.
“The others are the same, those who need money, I’m spending quickly, spending in Aceh, that also has an impact on the economy, right. So that’s real impact. Last year, was there a disaster? In January, no, right? Last year, was there a step like mine? Like us? Shifted to the beginning of the year? None,” emphasised Purbaya.