JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto revealed that he had heard of threats concerning a potential decline in Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) when launching the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme some time ago.

Prabowo mentioned this during the opening of the Tanwir Session and the 112th Muhammadiyah Anniversary Reception in Kupang on December 4, 2024. "They threatened me, I know I was threatened. They said JCI would drop on the first days I launched the MBG programme," he said, as quoted from the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel, Wednesday (19/3).

He explained that the threats took various forms, including weapons, incitement, slander, and hoaxes. "The proposal for the MBG programme was met with threats of an JCI decline. I don’t own shares, and the people in the villages don’t have shares. If stocks fall, it’s those stock market players," he stated.

Prabowo's remarks regarding JCI decline proved true yesterday (18/3). JCI dropped by 1,682 points, or minus 21.28%, from its highest point to date, yesterday (18/3). During the first trading session, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) temporarily halted trading (trading halt) as JCI corrected by 5% at 11:19:31 Jakarta Automated Trading System (JATS) time. (LK/ZH)