Rupiah Plummets, Prabowo: People in Villages Don't Use US Dollars
President Prabowo Subianto is not worried about the weakening of the Rupiah against the US dollar. Prabowo believes that the decline in the Rupiah’s exchange rate does not directly impact people in rural areas.
The Chairman of the Gerindra Party stated that many people often claim that the Indonesian economy is in danger because the Rupiah continues to weaken. “Now there are always people, for some reason I don’t understand, who keep saying that Indonesia will collapse, will be in chaos, and so on, right?” he said in Nganjuk, East Java on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Scroll down to continue reading
Prabowo asked that people not be too worried about the Rupiah’s movement against the dollar. The former defense minister said that Indonesia’s condition is still safe compared to other countries, especially in the food and energy sectors.
He also responded calmly to the situation because people in villages do not use foreign currency in their daily lives. Therefore, he is not worried about warnings from people about the weakening Rupiah. “The Rupiah is like this, the dollar is like that. People in villages don’t use dollars, do they?” he said.
On Friday morning, May 15, 2026, the Rupiah had weakened to a level of Rp 17,600 per US dollar. This is the highest level since the Asian monetary crisis in 1997-1998.
Director of PT Traze Andalan Futures, Ibrahim Assuaibi, predicted that the Rupiah exchange rate would break the level of Rp 18,000 per US dollar in May 2026. “If it breaks Rp 18,000 this May, there is a good chance that the Rupiah will break the level of Rp 22,000,” said Ibrahim in a statement on Friday, May 15, 2026.
He said that the last two days, namely Thursday, May 14 and Friday, May 15, were a test for Indonesia. This is because, during the trading holiday due to the red date, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to escalate.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim said, Bank Indonesia can only carry out interventions in the international market during the holiday period. Therefore, the impact of external pressure on the Rupiah is even greater. However, he said that the situation could be different when trading resumes on Monday, May 18, 2026.
From an external perspective, Ibrahim said that the strengthening of the US dollar is influenced by the direction of policy by the central bank or The Federal Reserve (The Fed). The Fed is expected not to lower interest rates throughout 2026 due to a significant increase in US inflation.
Meanwhile, from an internal perspective, Ibrahim highlighted the large pressure on the State Budget (APBN). This is because the weakening of the Rupiah has an impact on the surge in oil subsidy spending.
Anastasya Lavenia Yudi contributed to the writing of this article
Editor’s Choice: Prabowo Inaugurates 1,061 Red and White Village Cooperatives