The best way to sink Jokowi is to sink Rupiah
Indonesia’s Widodo wobbles as the rupiah tumbles
http://www.atimes.com/article/indonesias-widodo-wobbles-as-the-rupiah-tumbles
Seven months out from April 2019 elections, President Joko Widodo’s appears to be facing one of his worst nightmares with the Indonesian rupiah now at its lowest level since the devastating 1997-98 financial crisis, an event that remains embedded in the national psyche.
Economic Coordinating Minister Darmin Nasution described last week’s latest slide as “illogical,” though it is clear events in Argentina and Turkey are also driving emerging market concerns, with the Indian rupee now at its lowest-ever level. Analysts say foreign domination of Indonesia’s bond market, high US dollar debt loads of Indonesian corporations and the fact that 40% of the government’s debt is denominated in foreign currencies leaves little room for confidence in the rupiah.
The falling currency is only one symptom of a wider malaise. Indonesia’s growth rate has remained stuck on 5% for Widodo’s entire presidency, a far cry from the 7%-plus he had promised.