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Indonesia’s Prabowo has the chance to turn looming economic storm into opportunity
Dark clouds are gathering as a result of Trump tariffs and domestic policies, but measures such as deregulation could help alleviate the gloom.
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Even before Mr Prabowo took power in October 2024, a pandemic-induced shrinkage of the middle class – that great driver of mass consumption – had been noticeable.
PHOTO: AFP
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Nearly three decades ago, East Asia entered two years of the most severe economic contagion, triggered by the collapse of South Korea’s Hanbo Steel and a few months later, the massive devaluation of the Thai baht.
The chain of events accelerated with the July 1997 Thai devaluation, sweeping across South-east Asia. It ravaged Malaysia and, particularly, Indonesia. Thousands of businesses shut down and millions went out of work as the Asian financial crisis spread. Politically, it caused the collapse of the long-serving regime of president Suharto – current President Prabowo Subianto’s late father-in-law.
