Global Uncertainty Increases, Government and DPR Agree to Maintain Inflation and People's Purchasing Power

JAKARTA - The government and the DPR have agreed on a focus on short-term policies to maintain national economic stability, especially in controlling inflation and maintaining people's purchasing power amid high global economic pressures.

The agreement was reached in a meeting attended by Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, Secretary of State Minister Prasetyo Hadi, Deputy Minister of Finance Juda Agung, Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia Destry Damayanti, and Deputy Chair of the National Economic Council Mari Elka Pangestu at the DPR RI Building, Monday, June 29.

During the meeting, Mari Elka explained that the current economic conditions are still facing various dynamics and various steps that need to be taken to respond to global and domestic dynamics.

"What we have presented is also what we have presented two or three weeks ago to the President," he said at a press conference, Monday, June 29.

He explained that all parties present, including Bank Indonesia and the Ministry of Finance, had the same view that global economic uncertainty was still the main challenge faced by many countries.

"The important thing is how a country responds to this uncertain global situation. And there is an agreement I think that has been reached that the important thing is to maintain macroeconomic stability in the short term," he said.

According to him, this step is considered important because the impact of global uncertainty has begun to be felt, including rising oil prices which have the potential to drive inflation and suppress people's purchasing power.

He added that for this reason, all relevant authorities will strengthen coordination of fiscal and monetary policies to maintain national economic stability.

"So this is a priority to maintain macro stability, and what steps need to be taken both in terms of fiscal and monetary and coordination between fiscal and monetary is what we discuss, yes," he said.

On the other hand, Mari Elka emphasized that Indonesia's economic fundamentals are still in a fairly good condition.

However, he added that the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate, which is relatively greater than a number of similar countries, needs to be a common concern.

"We are indeed facing a weakening of the rupiah that is more than our peers. This means that we must also be aware of how to maintain the issue of confidence and trust," he explained.

According to him, these efforts will be supported through various policies carried out by each institution in accordance with its authority.

"The discussion went well and I think this is a good forum to exchange ideas between us all because we want of course the Indonesian economy to advance," he explained.