President Prabowo Subianto called the director general of customs and excise, Djaka Budhi Utama, to the Presidential Palace, Kompas.com reported on Tuesday. The meeting placed the customs agency, known in Indonesia as DJBC, at the center of the government's attention.
After the summons, Djaka disclosed the direction he received from the president, according to detikNews. Neither report specified what was discussed in detail.
The palace meeting comes amid a broader push by the finance ministry for the customs office to do more to shield Indonesia's market, a position reported by the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform. The same theme runs through recent coverage of illegal goods entering the country.
Kompas.id reported that close to 400 tons of illegal rice reached Indonesia, raising questions about the impact on local farmers. CNBC Indonesia reported separately that illegal gambling operators continue to look for ways into the country, describing a cat-and-mouse dynamic between authorities and operators.
Together, the reports point to pressure on the customs agency on several fronts: agricultural commodities, consumer goods and online gambling. The director general's visit to the palace follows that scrutiny.
What to watch next: whether the customs office announces concrete measures after the president's direction, and how the finance ministry's call to strengthen market protection translates into enforcement at the country's entry points.
