Prabowo Subianto has brought one of Indonesia’s most prominent labour leaders into his administration, giving organised labour a voice inside the presidential palace while also fuelling concerns that the country’s unions are being pulled away from street-level activism.

Said Iqbal, former president of the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI), defended his appointment as special adviser on labour affairs in an exclusive interview with This Week in Asia, arguing that workers needed direct access to policymakers rather than relying solely on outside pressure.

“Industrialists have always had their lobbyists working from within the government. It’s now the workers’ turn to have theirs so that their voice can be heard loud and clear,” he said.

Said was sworn in at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday, days after the rupiah slid past 18,000 to the US dollar – a historic low and psychological threshold that highlighted market concerns about Indonesia’s economy.

He is the second senior labour figure to serve in the current administration. In a cabinet reshuffle last month, Prabowo named Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat, former chairman of the Confederation of All Indonesian Workers’ Unions (KSPSI), as Minister of the Environment and Forestry.