October 14, 2025 | 03:22 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dozens of flower boards lined the courtyard of the Ministry of Finance office at Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. The messages varied, from words of thanks and praise to sarcasm and condemnation. The colorful displays reflected public reactions to Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa's decision to freeze cigarette excise rate increases for 2026.
Most of the supportive messages came from tobacco farmers and industry workers, while the criticism came from anti-tobacco advocates. They accused Purbaya of siding with the cigarette industry over public health concerns.
Manik Marganamahendra, Chair of the Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Changes, said his organization was among those who sent the flower boards to the minister. The gesture, he said, symbolized public rejection of the moratorium. "A higher excise tax could be an effective tool to prevent young people from falling into addiction and diseases caused by smoking," he said.
A few days before the floral deluge, Purbaya had announced that there would be no increase in cigarette excise rates in 2026. The statement followed his meeting with cigarette manufacturers grouped under the Indonesian Cigarette Producers Association, among them Djarum, Gudang Garam, and Wismilak, on Friday, September 26.
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