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Five Things To Know About Indonesia’s Deadly Protests
Violent clashes have erupted across Indonesia, boiling into the biggest test of Prabowo Subianto’s 10-month presidency, with at least four people killed in separate incidents.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has been simmering with discontent in recent weeks over economic issues such as financial perks for lawmakers, but a motorcycle gig driver’s death sparked widespread protests on Friday.
Here are five things to know about the unrest in Indonesia:
Deep-rooted anger
Deep-rooted discontent emerged on the streets of Jakarta when several hundred protesters rallied outside parliament on Monday, angry about lavish benefits for lawmakers that include a housing allowance nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the capital.
Fresh demonstrations were held again on Thursday, with hundreds protesting into the night against low wages. Police moved to disperse that crowd using tear gas and water cannon.
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During that protest, a black tactical van from the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) paramilitary unit ran over and killed 21-year-old driver Affan Kurniawan.
The footage went viral and stoked further anger over police tactics.
Protests spread
Protests escalated after Affan’s death, with rallies starting in cities across the country.
Thousands, many of them “ojek” motorcycle drivers like Affan, protested in front of the Brimob headquarters and the police office in Jakarta.
Protesters hurled firecrackers, Molotov cocktails and rocks, while others started fires.
Protests also began in cities such as Yogyakarta, Bandung, Solo and Semarang in Java, and in Medan in Sumatra.
At least three people were killed and four injured in Makassar, the biggest city on the eastern island of Sulawesi, after protesters set fire to a council building.
Tip of the iceberg
Thousands of Indonesians protested in February against Prabowo’s widespread budget cuts.
He said he had slashed budgets to fund populist policies, including a billion-dollar free meal programme for schoolchildren and pregnant mothers.
However, experts say Indonesians have become disenchanted with their economic situation.
“There are also problems with unfair taxes, people’s declining purchasing power and the lack of job opportunities,” Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, executive director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies, told AFP.
More than 42,000 people were laid off between January and June, a 32 percent rise on last year, the Ministry of Manpower said.
Ride-hailing workers like Kurniawan have also faced bigger pay deductions and longer working hours.
Bhima said that discontent boiled over because of the lack of empathy shown by lawmakers.
“The problems piled up like dried hay, and the parliament lit the fire,” he said.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Prabowo test
The protests are Probowo’s biggest test since he took office in October, and experts say the ex-general must act to quell public fury.
“If I were the president, I’d remove the National Police chief from his post,” Made Supriatma, visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told AFP.
“The people need a symbolic gesture from him.”
Prabowo and the National Police chief have promised to investigate Affan’s death.
Police have also detained seven Brimob officers, saying they had violated the ethics code.
Made said Prabowo should re-evaluate key programmes such as the free meal scheme and the new multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund Danantara.
“He needs to change the course, and he should re-evaluate his cabinet as well,” he said.
More protests
More protests are expected as public anger simmers.
Hundreds of students rallied outside the East Java police headquarters in Surabaya on Saturday, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Some ojek drivers said on social media they would return to the streets soon to protest against lawmakers.
There were also calls online for more protests outside parliament next week to demand its dissolution.
“I believe these protests are very likely to continue for the next few days,” said Made.
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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