JAKARTA - The statement of the Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin regarding the directors of banks belonging to the State Bank Association (Himbara) is a blunder, because it does not match the main duties and functions (tupoksi). The Minister of Defense's statement has the potential to add confusion to the stock exchange.
Not long ago, Defense Minister Sjafrie said President Prabowo Subianto would replace the Bank Himbara's board of directors, which was considered detrimental to the country. This was done so that state-owned banks could work more effectively to strengthen Indonesia's economic sovereignty.
Bank Himbara, said Sjafrie, is more profitable for large entrepreneurs than small entrepreneurs. According to him, so far many state banks and other state-owned enterprises (BUMN) have not reaped profits for the country.
The reason, according to Sjafrie, is because many company directors do not work to the maximum, even tend to benefit themselves.
The Executive Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira said the Minister of Defense's statement regarding the discussion of replacing the Bank Himbara's board of directors could create a negative perception among investors.
Adding to the Stock Exchange ControversyOn the other hand, the Minister of Investment and CEO of Danantara Rosan Roeslani said that as a shareholder in all Himbara banks, Danantara has so far not discussed the replacement of directors and commissioners.
According to him, if in the future it is indeed necessary to make improvements or adjustments, Danantara will address it through the existing consultation and governance mechanisms.
Bank Himbara is an inter-institutional synergy of banking finance with a state-owned enterprise status and was initiated by the Ministry of SOEs. Members of Himbara are Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN).
Bhima Yudhistira assessed that the Minister of Defense's statement would only add confusion to the stock exchange, because it was not his job to talk about the directors of state-owned banks.
"Finally, investors perceive that the election of the BUMN board of directors will be filled by people close to the president," said Bhima through a short message to VOI.
According to him, the plan to replace the Himbara member director could also be seen as an effort to strengthen Prabowo's cronies in the financial sector. A similar effort was made with the entry of Prabowo's nephew, Thomas Djiwandono, as Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia.
"When the Minister of Finance Purbaya criticized BI, then the nephew of the president-elect. The same way is going to be used again. So the legitimacy of the bank's current directors is considered not working. Then there is pressure to reform that will be filled by close people," said Bhima explaining.
This suspicion is in line with the findings of Transparency International Indonesia (TII) which noted the prevalence of political patronage or political rewards in the era of Prabowo's leadership. In June 2025, TII announced their findings, that there were 165 politicians who got seats in SOEs.
Of this number, 104 of them are party cadres and the other 61 are political volunteers. And, of the 104 seats in BUMN, the majority is affiliated with the Gerindra Party, namely 48.6 percent.
The Practice of Asal Bapak SenangThe statement from Defense Minister Sjafrie regarding the discussion of the change of directors of the Himbara bank came in the midst of the withdrawal of a number of officials from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) following the collapse of the JCI last week.
According to Bhima, there are several reasons why the discourse on the change of directors of the Himbara bank has emerged. First, Prabowo's economic policy is stagnant, one of which is the distribution of fresh funds of Rp. 200 trillion at the Himbara bank in September 2025.
The distribution, said Bhima, was judged to have failed to become productive credit. Instead of flowing into Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the distribution of fresh funds was instead used for the capital of large companies.
In addition, the issue of the replacement of the Himbara bank's board of directors can also be interpreted as Prabowo's instruction to state-owned banks to support flagship programs, such as the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program and the Red and White Village Cooperative through bank credit distribution even though the risk is high.
"There is a kind of indication of the deterioration of financial sector governance," Bhima continued.
Meanwhile, in terms of political communication, the discourse on the replacement of the Himbara board of directors, which was revealed by the Minister of Defense Sjafri Sjarifuddin, has the potential to create negative interpretations in the public space, especially regarding power relations in the cabinet.
Statements outside the scope of work can be perceived as practices that prioritize the interests of personal closeness rather than professionalism.
"The statement of the Minister of Defense outside the scope of his work can be interpreted as an attempt to practice 'as long as the father is happy'," said Dedi.
According to him, this attitude reflects the tendency of some officials who prioritize defending or becoming an extension of the President's speech, even though the issue conveyed is not their area of responsibility.
"They prioritize defending or becoming an extension of the President's speech even though it is not their territory," concluded Dedi.
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