Gerindra Legislator: Protect the Rupiah, Protect the People's Kitchen, RI Needs to Plan Strategies to Face the Global Economic Storm

Member of the Gerindra Faction of the DPR, Azis Subekti, highlighted the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against the United States dollar which the public considered increasingly worrying. He assessed that maintaining the rupiah was the same as maintaining the people's kitchen so that Indonesia needed to design strategies to face the global economic storm.

According to Azis, not many nations are given the gift and test at once like Indonesia. He said, this country has abundant natural resource reserves, a large domestic market, an increasing number of productive people, and an increasingly important geopolitical position in the midst of global economic shifts.

But at the same time, Indonesia still lives in a global economic system that makes every turmoil in other parts of the world can resonate to traditional markets in remote villages.

"When the US dollar strengthens, geopolitical conflicts heat up, energy prices fluctuate, and global capital seeks a place considered safer, the rupiah also experiences pressure. In international trading spaces, the weakening of the rupiah immediately became the headline news. The exchange rate chart was analyzed, predictions were made, and market sentiment was talked about endlessly," said Azis Subekti in his statement, Thursday, June 4.

"However, for most Indonesians, the exchange rate is not a number they see every day. They see the price of chili. They pay attention to the price of rice. They calculate the cost of transportation. They measure the ability to buy cooking oil for family needs. That's where the true meaning of a currency is tested. Because the weakening of the rupiah will be a big problem when it manages to get into the people's kitchen," he continued.

Therefore, Azis assessed, reading the current state of the Indonesian economy requires a calmer and deeper way of looking. According to him, too many public discussions are stuck on the exchange rate alone, as if the entire health of the nation's economy was determined by that one indicator. In fact, he said, world economic history shows a different picture.

"Japan has experienced a prolonged weakening of the yen but remains a world industrial giant. South Korea has faced currency pressures several times but has managed to maintain its economic growth. Even China for decades has managed its currency not to pursue a strong exchange rate prestige, but to support national industrialization and exports," he said.

"What determines the strength of a nation in the end is not just the exchange rate, but the ability to produce food, master technology, maintain employment, control inflation, and maintain the purchasing power of the people," continued Azis.

From that perspective, said Azis, the May 2026 Central Statistics Agency data provides a very interesting lesson. Indonesia's annual inflation was recorded at 3.08 percent. "This figure is still within a relatively controlled range and far from the picture of an economic crisis. Banking remains stable. Food distribution is running. The government is still able to carry out its fiscal functions. The business world is still moving," he said.

"However, when the data layer is opened deeper, a message that is much more important than the inflation figure itself appears," added the member of Commission II of the DPR.

According to Azis, the largest contributor to national inflation turned out to be the food, beverage, and tobacco group, which experienced an inflation of 4.94 percent with a contribution of 1.43 percent to the national inflation. This means, said Azis, almost half of Indonesia's inflationary pressure today comes from people's basic needs.

"Furthermore, the May 2026 monthly inflation of 0.28 percent was also driven mainly by the same group. Red chili experienced an increase of up to 25.64 percent. Tomatoes rose 9.82 percent. Red onions increased 6.65 percent. Cooking oil increased 2.87 percent. Rice began to put pressure even though it was relatively small. The data contains a very clear message. The main enemy of the people today is not the dollar exchange rate. The main enemy is the increase in the price of basic necessities," said Azis.

"In other words, the Indonesian economic battleground is actually not only in the financial market, but in the people's market," added the Gerindra Legislator from the Central Java District.

Azis said all parties needed to distinguish between cause and effect. According to him, the weakening of the rupiah can indeed increase import costs and add price pressure. However, the surge in the price of chili, red onions, tomatoes, or various other food commodities is not entirely born from the exchange rate.

"Most of them are rooted in problems that are closer to daily life: inefficient distribution, weather, long supply chains, the lack of synchronization of inter-regional production, high logistics costs, and market intervention delays. That is, the solutions needed are not always in the form of large interventions in the foreign exchange market," he said.

Azis assessed that many solutions are actually in the field. For example, in food warehouses, at production centers, at wholesale markets, at village cooperatives, at ports and distribution channels, and in the hands of local governments. Therefore, according to him, the strategy to face global pressure should not solely focus on defending the rupiah.

"Indonesia must build a second defense that is much more important: the defense of the price of basic necessities. If the first defense is carried out by Bank Indonesia and financial authorities, then the second defense must be carried out in an integrated manner by Bulog, Bapanas, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Trade, local governments, cooperatives, BUMDes, to the network of people's markets," he said.

Interesting lessons can be drawn from Malaysia. Azis said that when facing fiscal pressures and energy price volatility, the Malaysian government did not choose the extreme path of abolishing all subsidies. They moved in a more careful direction: sharpening the subsidy target and narrowing the leakages.

"The state is still present to protect vulnerable groups. Fishermen are still helped. Farmers are still protected. People's transportation is still maintained. However, subsidies that have been leaked to the able group will gradually be improved," he said.

"Indonesia has room to take a similar approach. It is not about reducing protection for small people, but ensuring that protection actually reaches those who need it," continued Azis.

Azis explained, in a situation of global pressure, every rupiah of the budget must produce optimal social benefits. At this point, Indonesia actually has a great opportunity that often escapes attention. For years, he said, the discussion of the national economy has been too much centered on the financial market and too little discussing the strength of the domestic economy, even though Indonesia has a domestic market of more than 280 million people.

"Indonesia has a relatively strong national rice stock. Indonesia has a Bulog network to the regions. Indonesia has a Free Nutritious Meal program that has begun to build a structured national food demand. Indonesia is building Red and White Village and Village Cooperatives as local economic nodes. Indonesia has thousands of traditional markets that are still the main pulse of the people's economy. If all these instruments are orchestrated in a unified manner, then the global pressure can actually become a momentum to strengthen the foundation of the national economy," he explained.

"Because in fact Indonesia's biggest challenge is not a lack of resources. The biggest challenge is the ability to connect these various resources into a single force that works simultaneously," added Azis.

Azis assessed that there were several more concrete policy agendas that the government could do. First, the government needs to build a food price early warning system at the district and city levels. "Once the price of chili, onions, cooking oil, or rice exceeds a certain threshold, intervention must immediately take place without waiting for the turmoil to escalate," he said.

Second, the subsidy for food logistics needs to be expanded selectively. Azis said that much of the food inflation was not born because of insufficient production, but because the distribution costs were too expensive. According to him, reducing distribution costs is often much cheaper than providing price subsidies.

Third, energy protection must be focused on the productive sector of small people such as farmers, fishermen, public transportation, and MSMEs. The goal is not just to keep energy prices low, but to keep people's production costs low.

Fourth, village cooperatives, BUMDes, and people's markets need to be used as instruments for stabilizing the national economy. Azis said that so far these institutions have often been seen as complementary, although in a global turmoil situation they can be the first bulwark of community economic resilience.

Fifth, the government's public communication must be revolutionized. In the digital era, said Azis, panic can spread faster than inflation itself. R

According to him, the people must know the actual conditions, the steps that the government is taking, and the reasons behind each policy taken.

"Public trust is one of the most valuable forms of economic capital. In the end, the goal of Indonesia's economic policy should not stop at efforts to maintain a certain exchange rate," he said.

"We certainly want the rupiah to be strong. We certainly want the market to believe. We certainly want investment to continue to come in. However, the most authentic measure of success is not when market analysts give praise. The real measure of success is when farmers continue to plant with optimism. Fishermen continue to sail calmly. Market traders continue to earn decent profits. MSMEs continue to grow. And simple families are still able to meet their basic needs without being haunted by anxiety whenever they hear news of the weakening of the rupiah," continued Azis.

Because in the end, added Azis, economic stability is not the ability of a country to maintain macroeconomic figures alone. Economic stability is the ability of a nation to ensure that global storms stop at the statistical port and never turn into suffering at the people's dinner table.

"That is the deepest meaning of maintaining the rupiah. Not just maintaining the value of the currency, but maintaining the dignity of the lives of millions of people who depend on it," he concluded.