May 21, 2026 | 05:36 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed the replacement of the head of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise if they are unable to solve the problems. Prabowo conveyed this instruction to the Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who leads the Customs and Excise Office, during a speech at a plenary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.Prabowo stated that he had repeatedly requested for improvements in the customs sector. He assessed that the institution has many problems. "I remind you again, for the umpteenth time our customs must be improved. Minister of Finance, if the head of the customs office is not capable, replace them immediately," he said at the MPR/DPR/DPD Building, Jakarta.The current Director General of Customs and Excise, retired Lieutenant General Djaka Budhi Utama, was inaugurated on May 23, 2025. At that time, Prabowo had been in office for seven months.The Chairman of the Gerindra Party stated that the public wants prompt action. Therefore, he said, government officials should not work leisurely. If there is a problem in an institution, Prabowo wants it to be fixed immediately.Prabowo used the Sundanese phrase to emphasize his statement. He said the government must be "engke kumaha" (what will happen later), not "kumaha engke" (later, what will happen).Prabowo also discussed several issues in the customs and excise sector that have occurred. Among them, he mentioned export value fraud and smuggling that have harmed the state's finances.In the same speech, Prabowo also mentioned the steps taken by the former president Soeharto's administration to improve customs and excise. At that time, the New Order government froze customs and excise due to rampant corruption and extortion. Soeharto handed over the customs inspection and supervision functions to the Swiss private inspection company, Socit Gnrale de Surveillance (SGS).Prabowo stated that this step increased the country's revenue. However, he considered the situation saddening.On the other hand, Prabowo stated that he did not want to demoralize his officials. "But it's time for us to speak honestly to ourselves, to the people," he said.Prabowo attended the DPR plenary session to deliver the macroeconomic framework and the main points of fiscal policy (KEM-PPKF). This 8th President of Indonesia became the first president to directly present the KEM-PPKF to the parliament.Read: Prabowo Orders Bureaucrats Not to Take Too Much InitiativeClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
