Dino Patti Djalal, Former Deputy Foreign Minister and Indonesia’s Ambassador to the US, Founder and Chairman of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. (FPCI)
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, in his address to the Plenary Cabinet Meeting on October 21, declared that the country is not afraid and will not be intimidated by MSCI. “They are trying to scare us,” he told his ministers.
This defiant response followed a recent reclassification review by the global index provider to potentially downgrade the Indonesian capital market from an “Emerging Market” to a “Standalone Market”, citing market dysfunction and lack of regulatory enforcement. The announcement triggered a severe sell-off for the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), which dropped dangerously below 5,000.
Although the country’s benchmark managed to stage a rebound, finishing the week at 5,439.25, analysts warned that the recovery is still highly fragile. The Indonesian rupiah remained weak, hovering above 18,000 per US dollar.
Former Deputy Foreign Minister and Indonesia’s Ambassador to the US—who now chairs the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia—Dino Patti Djalal, on October 24, articulated his perspective through his social media platform, maintaining a critical posture toward the government’s claim.
Dino emphasised that “MSCI is not an opponent we must topple,” but rather a “referee we need to listen to and navigate around”, asserting that “there is no conspiracy, only a professional assessment, with criteria applied evenly to everyone”. He further warned that “the stakes are high”—citing that internal stability and international confidence hang in the balance—and therefore the government must handle the crisis “with a serious strategy”.
His proposed blueprint involved launching immediate negotiations with MSCI to signal “sincerity and good faith” to reform the market, and subsequently assembling a special task force to handle the issue exclusively.
Acknowledging the ongoing market volatility, Dino cautioned officials, “don’t talk too much for now”.
He concluded by advising, “Apply a high level of discipline and sensitivity to market sentiment in share transactions. Do not sacrifice long-term systemic interests merely for fleeting transactional ones”.
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