When Prabowo Learns from the Economic Crisis of the SBY Era

Those who do not learn from history will be punished by history, and will relive the same dark history. This adage was cited by President Prabowo Subianto from the podium of the Macro-Economic Framework and Core Fiscal Policy (KEM-PPKF) 2027 on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. Two days later, Prabowo gathered his economic team to learn from the history of the crisis dynamics two decades ago. The eighth President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, drew lessons on facing the economic crisis from his predecessor, the sixth President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). Prabowo Subianto conducted a discussion regarding the handling of the 2005 crisis. The Head of State summoned several economists who had served in the SBY era to the Istana Complex, Jakarta, on Friday, 23 May 2026. Also present were former Indonesian Ambassador to China (2005–2009) Sudrajat and former Deputy Minister of National Development Planning (2010–2014), Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said Prabowo summoned these figures to listen to their experiences during the crises they faced in their time. “In the meeting earlier, they shared a number of lessons from facing the crisis in 2008. Coincidentally they largely operated during the period 2004 to 2014,” Airlangga said after accompanying Prabowo at the Istana. From the meeting, these economic figures also noted that the macro context today is still relatively better than during the 2005 crisis. “Fundamentals are stronger, and the rupiah depreciation is around 5 percent, thus far lower than in various previous cases. And from that, we learn how to anticipate and what is needed to face future situations,” Airlangga said. One of the attendees, former BI Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, revealed that during the meeting he only discussed his experiences facing the 2005 crisis with President Prabowo. The BI Governor from 2003-2008 hoped his crisis experiences could be a lesson for the future.