Jakarta. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has criticized the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) for their weak enforcement against stock manipulation, locally known as “goreng saham,” warning that such practices continue to undermine investor confidence and market integrity.

Speaking during an online media briefing on Friday, Purbaya said stock manipulation, where share prices are artificially inflated for short-term gains, remains a chronic problem in Indonesia’s capital market.

“I observe the stock market closely, and yes, there are people who still play these games. Some of them I personally know,” Purbaya said.

The minister recalled his experience at state-owned underwriter Danareksa Sekuritas, where the firm nearly collapsed after being caught up in speculative trading. He also cited similar cases at state-linked insurers Asabri and Jiwasraya, both of which suffered major losses due to risky and manipulated stock investments.

“It’s an open secret that the market is full of these speculative players, but very few ever get punished,” he said. “The IDX and OJK must do a better job of cleaning up the system.”

Purbaya’s comments followed a meeting at the IDX headquarters on Thursday, where the exchange requested tax incentives from the Finance Ministry, specifically, to apply the capital market transaction tax only once instead of twice as currently imposed on both buying and selling.

He rejected the request, saying incentives would only be considered once the exchange demonstrates stronger enforcement and investor protection. The government previously offered tax breaks to encourage initial public offerings (IPOs) during the pandemic recovery from 2021 to 2023.

“The IDX asked for incentives, but I said not yet. I’ll give them once they fix investor behavior in the market. Speculative players must be controlled first so that small investors are protected,” he said.

The IDX has implemented mechanisms such as the Unusual Market Activity (UMA) alert and the Full Call Auction (FCA) system to detect and limit excessive volatility. However, Purbaya said enforcement remains weak, allowing price manipulation to persist.

“There are still too many stocks being ‘fried’ (manipulated), soaring fast and crashing again. Retail investors become victims. The market shouldn’t just benefit a few,” he said on a separate occasion on Thursday.

His remarks come amid a strong rally in the Indonesian stock market. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) recently hit a record high of 8,100, up more than 7 percent this year.

Indonesia’s retail investor base has also expanded rapidly, reaching around 13 million single investor IDs (SIDs) as of mid-2025, up from 9.5 million in 2022, according to OJK data. Retail investors now account for 50 to 60 percent of daily trading.