Redenomination not in near future: Jokowi

JAKARTA. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said the rupiah redenomination will not be implemented in the near future, arguing that government officials are still discussing all aspects related to the elimination of several zeroes from the Indonesian currency.

“The government is still calculating the impact, considering its urgency and the right time to implement the policy,” said Jokowi when attending a national coordination meeting of the inflation-monitoring team in Jakarta on Thursday as reported by tempo.co.

Previously, Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Matowardojo said this year was the best time to start the process, considering the good indications in the country’s economy.

Agus cited a number of economic parameters, including a 3.02% inflation rate and 5.02% economic growth rate last year, as well as a 5.01% economic growth rate in the first quarter of 2017.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution supported Agus’ statement, but on Tuesday Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said she was instructed by Jokowi to carry out a comprehensive study of the redenomination, considering all aspects that would be affected should the policy be implemented.

Initially, the redenomination bill was to have been included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) this year, but there was no instruction from the President.

“All aspects should be calculated if the redenomination is finally implemented,” Jokowi said, adding that redenomination could be implemented in 11 years’ time.