Luhut links rising prices to poverty as economy grows 5 percent

National Economic Council chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said rising prices were one cause of the increase in the number of poor people even as Indonesia's economy grew about 5 percent. In Jakarta on Wednesday, he said DEN had calculated the issue and believed growth could still be sustained if government programs were carried out more efficiently without leakages. Luhut also pointed to the demographic bonus, which he said will run out in 10 years, meaning the government needs to move quickly so the Indonesia Emas 2045 target does not miss. He added that digital government transformation, or GovTech, could help cut corruption. Earlier, President Prabowo Subianto described the rise in poverty amid economic growth as an anomaly after reviewing data several months into his term.