SALAMUDDIN DAENG: INDONESIA HAS NO DEBT, STATE RECEIVABLES WERE CONVERTED INTO GOVERNMENT DEBT

JAKARTA, May 16, 2026,NETTInpo.Com

 Economist Salamuddin Daeng asserts that Indonesia does not have state debt. According to him, what exists are state receivables that were converted into government debt.

The statement was made in an article titled _Affirmation! The State Has No Debt, But Receivables That Were Converted Into Debt_.

BLBI 1998 Cited as State Receivables 

Daeng refers to Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance in 1997/1998, worth 6.5 times the state budget at the time, as state receivables that should be collected. He calculates the value of these receivables now equals Rp24,000 trillion.

The status changed after the BLBI funds were disbursed. 

At that time, the Bank Indonesia Law was passed, making BI an independent institution. Previously, the government and BI were part of the same state structure. After the change, BI was positioned as a private institution within the state.

As a result, state receivables became government debt to BI.

*BLBI Funds Allegedly Flowed Overseas*  

Daeng alleges that most BLBI funds were taken abroad. Some were held in foreign currency, while some were used to buy obligor assets at low prices.

He argues these funds continue to disrupt national finance, create economic uncertainty, and destabilize politics. Money moving outside the official system, he says, is a serious threat.

Daeng also states that since the reform era, there has been no real foreign investment entering Indonesia’s financial sector. Incoming foreign funds, he says, are actually money belonging to Indonesians themselves moving in and out of the country in foreign currency to weaken the rupiah and gain large profits.

Natural Resources Pledged for Government Loans

The second factor he highlights is natural resources pledged by private parties to the market. After obtaining permits, concessions, and contracts, these resources were used as loan collateral by private firms.

The money from pledging land and natural resources was then borrowed by the government. Thus, the debt recorded as state borrowing from the private sector actually originates from the state’s own assets.

Daeng says private investment in government bonds comes from countries that became destinations for BLBI funds. He adds that investment profits in Indonesia always return abroad in the form of interest, profit transfers, and tax payments in those destination countries.

He concludes that the state borrows its own money, then pays returns abroad.

#IndonesianEconomy #BLBI #StateDebt #SalamuddinDaeng #NaturalResources