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View all search resultsHouse deputy speaker’s expanding roles spark power concerns
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House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad (second right), State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi (left), Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa (center), Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warijo (second left) and House financial affairs commission head Mohamad Hekal pose after a meeting on fiscal and monetary policies on June 6 at the Senayan Legislative Complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Meli Pratiwi)
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mid pressure on the rupiah and growing concerns over the country’s economic stability, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad has taken a dominant role in coordinating with government officials on economic policies, raising questions over the scope of his authority in the legislature.
A senior executive of President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party and widely known as one of his right-hand men, Dasco has over the past week frequently led meetings with cabinet ministers and coordinated responses to help the government address the economic turmoil.
The moves came amid Prabowo’s attempts to reassure investors increasingly rattled by his populist policies and interventionist economic agenda, as the nation’s stocks tumble at one of the fastest pace worldwide and its currency sinks to all-time lows over the past week.
On Tuesday, after sharp drops in the nation’s stock markets a day before, the House deputy speaker held a closed-door meeting at the legislature with State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi and executives from the state-owned banks and state asset fund Danantara. The meeting resulted in a handshake deal on stock buybacks.
A similar meeting was hosted by Dasco on Monday with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and other officials to discuss ways to provide greater policy certainty for the mining industry under the newly issued government regulation that centralizes key commodity exports.
Previously on Saturday, Dasco summoned Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo to “evaluate the country’s economic conditions”, including coordinating fiscal and monetary policies to support economic recovery.
Read also: BI, Finance Ministry agree to boost asset yields to aid rupiah
