Since February 2025, Indonesia’s streets have been filled with anti-corruption protests. The protests were sparked by President Prabowo Subianto’s inauguration into office in October last year, which many students and activists viewed as a reason to take action, as Prabowo’s administration has been perceived to favor the political elite.
Protests spiked in August, before the country’s 80th independence anniversary. Many citizens raised pirate flags next to the Indonesian flag to symbolize defiance against Subianto after he called upon Indonesians to fly the national flag “wherever [they] are” to celebrate the anniversary. The latest wave began on August 25 after reports were released, which exposed that all 580 parliamentary members received a monthly housing allowance of 50 million ruppia ($3,000) in addition to their salaries. That allowance is almost 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta, and nearly 20 times the monthly minimum wage in poorer areas of Indonesia. Organizers of the protest, including Gejayan Memanggil, shared that demonstrators were demanding a salary cut for parliamentarians, who Memanggil described as “corrupt elites.”Additionally, organizers demand an increase in minimum wage due to recent inflation rates, which protestors claim have made life impossible for many due to taxes.
When President Subianto campaigned, he promised to take economic growth to 8% within 5 years, but many argued that this pledge was too ambitious, especially due to a new 19% tariff rate from the US, Indonesia’s second-largest export market. Currently, the World Bank estimates that Indonesia’s economy will grow at an average of 4.8% between 2025 to 2027, which is far below the levels promised by Subianto. Protestors have objected to Subianto’s background too, which includes his dispatch as a former military general in 1988 for his involvement in the abduction and torture of pro-democracy activists under dictator Suharto, who was his father-in-law.
As nationwide protests began on August 25, demonstrators began to throw rocks and sets of fireworks at riot police as they attempted to break into Indonesia’s parliament building. Public unrest increased when, on Thursday, a video on social media went viral, which showed the death of a motorcycle taxi driver. In the video, Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old food delivery service driver, was run over by an armoured police vehicle outside Indonesia’s House of Representatives. When news of his death spread, the media was shocked, and violence against security forces spiked. One protestor spoke out, arguing that “we all need to wake up. Just because your life is comfortable now doesn’t mean that you are safe.”
Protests continued on Friday, and protestors marched to the headquarters of the police mobile brigade in Jakarta, destroying traffic signs and infrastructure and causing traffic to stop as they faced tear gas from police. In Surabaya, demonstrators stormed the governor’s office after destroying fences and setting vehicles on fire. When security forces aimed tear gas and water cannons at them, they fought back with fireworks and wooden clubs. During the protests, three people died in a fire at a legislative building in Makassar, and five were injured. They were believed to have been trapped in the burning building, and two of the injured were hurt while jumping out of the building to escape the fire.
Days after the protests spiked, President Subianto promised to make concessions. As he spoke at a press conference in the presidential palace on August 31, Subianto announced that Indonesia’s political parties had reached a consensus to reduce the benefits of lawmakers. He shared that he had ordered the military and police to take stern action against rioters and looters, suggesting that elements of the violence resembled acts of terrorism and treason. Subianto’s promise to curb lawmakers’ benefits but also enact forces to take action against rioters hints at harsher crackdowns ahead. Human rights organization Amnesty International argued that the “president’s statement is insensitive to all the grievances and aspirations the public has voiced during the demonstrations,” as it does not address the other demands of the organizations, which included tax cuts, an increase in minimum wage, and affordable living costs.
Written by Claire Liu
