Rupiah Weakens as Malang City Government Acknowledges Growing Business Complaints
Malang – The impact of the rupiah’s weakening against the US dollar, currently at Rp17,823, is being felt by businesses in Malang City. Rising production costs due to expensive imported raw materials and energy have sparked concerns over business sustainability and could affect regional investment targets.
Arif Tri Sastyawan, Head of Malang City’s Labour, Investment, and One-Stop Service Agency (Disnaker-PMPTSP), confirmed several companies have lodged complaints about increased operational costs due to global economic volatility.
“Companies are already complaining to us about production costs. Naturally, production costs have risen, including energy and raw material needs,” Arif said on Saturday (30 May 2026).
The plastic industry is among the most affected sectors. He noted that raw plastic pellet prices have risen significantly, burdening companies that use them in production.
“Plastic pellets are now expensive. Almost all companies use plastic materials. If the raw material cost rises, the selling price will inevitably follow,” he added.
However, Malang City Government is working to prevent further impacts such as mass layoffs. Disnaker-PMPTSP has opened channels for companies and workers to report labour issues arising from economic pressures.
“We hope there will be no layoffs in Malang City. When there are widespread issues affecting workers, report them to us immediately so we can follow up and find solutions,” he said.
To date, Arif confirmed no mass layoffs have been reported due to the rupiah’s depreciation. Labour cases reported to Disnaker are mostly related to disciplinary issues or failure to meet performance targets leading to termination.
“So far, there have been no layoffs due to global economic impacts. If there are industrial relations issues, we usually resolve them through tripartite mechanisms and they are resolved,” he explained.
On the other hand, the rupiah’s depreciation may also affect Malang City’s 2026 investment targets. However, the local government remains optimistic about achieving the Rp2.3 trillion investment goal.
In the first quarter of this year, investment realisation reached approximately Rp1.1 trillion. The city government still needs to chase the remaining target by year-end amid global economic uncertainty.
“It will definitely impact investment, but we remain optimistic the target can be met,” he added.
This optimism is based on continued new investment plans coming to Malang. One example is a new hotel construction in the Jalan Panglima Sudirman area, currently in the permit application process.
“Investments are still coming in. Yesterday, there was an application for a new hotel in the Panglima Sudirman area. This shows Malang remains attractive to investors,” he concluded.