Rupiah Weakness Should Serve as Serious Warning: Lawmaker

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - A lawmaker from the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Commission XI, Habib Idrus Salim Aljufri, emphasized that the depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah should serve as a serious warning to the government and monetary authorities. Considering that the rupiah exchange rate has already exceeded IDR 17,000 per USD.

According to Idrus, the government and monetary authorities must immediately strengthen their proactive measures amid growing global uncertainty. “Exchange rate stability is not merely a technical monetary issue, but is also closely tied to market confidence in the nation’s economic fundamentals,” Idrus said in a press release in Jakarta on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Nevertheless, Idrus commended Bank Indonesia (BI) for intervening in the market through various monetary policy instruments. However, he cautioned that stabilizing the rupiah cannot be solely the responsibility of the central bank.

“The government must step in with strong fiscal policies, import controls, and the strengthening of the real sector to minimize pressure on the rupiah,” said Idrus.

Idrus also highlighted external factors such as global geopolitical conflicts and commodity price dynamics. According to him, both of these conditions also influence the rupiah’s exchange rate.

“We cannot control global factors, but the resilience of the national economy is in our control. Strengthening domestic industries, increasing value-added exports, and reducing dependence on imports must be priorities,” said Idrus.

Previously, BI Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti stated that maintaining the stability of the rupiah exchange rate remains the top priority, especially amid the current high level of global uncertainty.

“BI will optimize the utilization of all monetary policy instruments (MPI) at its disposal and implement monetary policy measures to maintain exchange rate stability,” said Destry in a written statement in Jakarta on Tuesday, April 7.

The rupiah exchange rate weakened slightly on Thursday morning, falling 18 points or 0.11 percent, to IDR 17,030 per USD. At the close of trading the previous day, the rupiah had actually strengthened by 93 points, or 0.54 percent, to IDR 17,012 per USD. (Gusti Panji/Lasti Martina)