ALTHOUGH Prabowo Subianto’s administration has been in office for nearly two months, there is little indication of effective economic policies to revitalize growth, which weakened during the third quarter of 2024. On the contrary, certain government decisions risk exacerbating the economic slowdown.

Take the proposed increase in the value-added tax (VAT) rate, for instance. In late November, a rare optimism emerged when Luhut Pangarib