Jakarta. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa recently said that he had no intention of running for vice president in the 2029 election despite his skyrocketing popularity. 

In early September, Purbaya replaced long-serving finance minister Sri Mulyani in a cabinet reshuffle that came after nationwide protests over economic inequality. It did not take long for Purbaya to rise to stardom thanks to a combination of frankness, major economic moves, and humor.

Asked about his interest in the veep seat, Purbaya admitted Thursday that the election never really crossed his mind, citing that his popularity would heavily depend on the state of Indonesia’s economy.

“It has only been a month. You are crazy,” Purbaya told the press at the 2025 Investor Daily Summit in Jakarta.

“[Popularity] can change. If the economic growth rises, so will [my popularity]. The opposite will happen if the economy plummets, won’t it? So don’t jump to conclusions. … Please, I don’t even care about the election,” Purbaya said. 

Purbaya wrapped up Indonesia’s biggest investment forum that evening. Enthusiasm soared high as soon as he stepped into the venue. The audience, both young and old, rushed to take a selfie with Purbaya. The minister also did not hold back in his speech, even when talking about the recent protests. 

“The demonstrations occurred because the economy had been extremely sluggish,” Purbaya said.

“If we didn’t change our economic directions, I bet we would see protests week after week, which would gradually get worse. These are my calculations as an economist and half-shaman. If we didn’t do anything, we would see a change in leadership by February. This shift will be very costly for the people,” he stated.

According to Purbaya, President Prabowo Subianto was aware of this fact, which eventually prompted the Indonesian leader to pick him as his new finance minister. 

Purbaya, who used to lead the Indonesian Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS), is currently not affiliated with any political party. Shortly after taking over Sri Mulyani’s job, Purbaya injected Rp 200 trillion or $12 billion into state lenders -- BRI, BNI, Mandiri, BTN, and BSI -- to jump-start lending. These banks have disbursed around 56 percent of the funds as loans as of the end of September.

Indonesia had over 204 million registered voters in the 2024 election.