Indonesia’s Leader Sets Sights on Tycoons to Consolidate Power

The deadly riots in Indonesia last month have spurred President Prabowo Subianto into bold moves to consolidate his power. While the former general ultimately decided to avoid using the military to quell the unrest, the episode convinced him to rein in Indonesia’s tycoons, sideline political rivals and address persistent inequality, according to people familiar with the president’s thinking, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.

The first step came last week with the abrupt removal of Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a finance minister adored by international investors for adhering to fiscal prudence. Her replacement, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, shares Prabowo’s view that Indonesia has room to take on more debt to boost growth and the central bank should be subordinate to the government, the people said.