Asia Sentinel

Asia Sentinel

Business/Economy

Haji Isam and the Making of a New Indonesian Oligarchy

President Prabowo has criticized traditional Indonesian Chinese oligarchs but is he just setting up a new oligarchy?

Sep 14, 2026
∙ Paid
By: Ainur Rohmah
Photo from tribun-medan.com

In Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto, political power and private wealth are finding a new point of convergence. Few businessmen illustrate that shift more clearly than Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, known as Haji Isam, a former truck driver who built a multibillion-dollar business empire and is now at the ce…

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