MAJALENGKA: Waiting to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, clerics in the Indonesian town of Majalengka gathered for an unusual briefing on the subject of inflation, led by the countrys central bank.
The address by a central bank official and two Muslim clerics in the towns Islamic centre was part of Bank Indonesias strategy to enlist preachers to warn against overconsumption during Ramadan, which can trigger price pressures in a country with a history of runaway inflation.
Though inflation has been brought under control in the past decade as authorities beef up efforts to strengthen food distribution along the supply chain, the central bank is keen to spread its message about the need to keep prices stable.
We hope you as the ulamas (scholars of Islam) can be mediators to convey the message that inflation management is our common task, said Agung Budilaksono, the senior central bank official for Majalengka.
Inflation must be managed, because its like blood pressure If its too high, it will ruin your health in the long run and if its too low, you will get weak, he told the clerics.
Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival, which, like in other Muslim countries, typically marks peak demand in Indonesia, where Muslims make up the majority of the population of 280 million.
Islamic clerics are influential among the public in Indonesias remote areas and towns like Majalengka in West Java, about three hours from the capital Jakarta.
People tend to want more during Ramadan, so maybe we need to remind them again that the point of fasting is to control our lust, said Mohamad Padil, 53, one of the clerics listening at the forum.
Inflation once ran hot in Southeast Asias largest economy, but in 2024 was 1.57%, near the lower end of the central banks target range, while West Javas rate was 1.64%.
The rate dropped further in the first two months of 2025 due to a large increase in subsidies for electricity prices, and economists predict it will remain within the central banks 1.5% to 3.5% target range this year.
The central bank has run other unconventional initiatives including a podcast on spending management and programmes to foster entrepreneurship as well as boost local food supply.
At the nearby Islamic boarding school of Santi Asromo, it helped build a greenhouse for students to plant Chinese cabbage and water spinach, constructing a fish farm for the school next door.