President Prabowo sacks finance minister Purbaya after clash with customs and tax chiefs

President Prabowo Subianto relieved finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa of his post, marking the second ministerial change in less than two years and installing former deputy Suahasil Nazara as his successor. The removal came after months of friction over fiscal reforms and a sweeping personnel reshuffle that affected roughly 400 officials, especially within the Directorate General of Taxes and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.

Both director generals—Djaka Budhi Utama, a retired three-star general, and Bimo Wijayanto, a Taruna Nusantara alumnus—opposed the changes and met with Prabowo on Sept. 11, shortly before his trip to India. Sources indicate their resistance was the pivotal factor in Purbaya’s dismissal. The dispute was amplified by Purbaya’s plan to transfer Rp 120 trillion in profits from state-owned asset manager Danantara to the budget as non-tax revenue, a move the firm denied. Earlier disagreements over the use of excess budget balance and the placement of large sums in state-owned banks (Himbara) had already strained the ministry’s policies.