According to TRTworld.com, Indonesian lawmakers currently earn around 100 million rupiah (£4,499; $6,150) per month, a figure that is over 30 times the average national income, as reported by local media. Authorities detained more than 1,240 demonstrators after five days of protests.
The intensity of the protests stems from two overlapping dynamics, according to Sophal Ear, a Cambodian-American academic at Arizona State University. First is the economic strain, with rising living costs, uneven job opportunities, and persistent inequality sharpening public anger. Second is the perception that political institutions are unresponsive, whether in handling corruption scandals, environmental degradation, or policy decisions seen as favoring elites, Ear tells TRT World.
In recent months, budget measures have had both direct and indirect impacts on the Indonesian economy, with less money being pumped into economic activities, according to an Indonesian academic who wished to remain anonymous. University campuses have also seen protests, signaling the frustration of the country’s young population with recent government policies. The protests themselves targeted the House of Representatives in Jakarta, especially by university students, the academic added.
According to footage, the death of Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old motorcycle delivery driver, occurred after a police armored vehicle ran him over late on Thursday in the middle of protesters in Jakarta, Java, the world’s most populous island. President Prabowo promised a proper investigation into Kurniawan’s death. On Monday, the national police’s accountability department head said that their ongoing investigation found criminal acts committed by two officers in a police vehicle.
Some experts rate the current protests as “among the most significant outbreaks of protests since the advent of reformasi,” which refers to a democratization period following the resignation of Suharto nearly three decades ago. While the central government attributes the violence in protests to improper police conduct regarding Kurniawan’s death, other policies, like a significant tax rise on land property by local governments (Pati Regency), continue to fuel public anger across different provinces, according to the academic. The president firmly warned against the destruction of public buildings and other properties, as demonstrators looted houses of some lawmakers, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, over the weekend.
According to Jakarta’s governor, protesters burned buses, subways, and other infrastructure. There is a mob mentality among the people that sometimes coincides with a copycat mindset, which intensifies the anger and disappointment expressed. If this mindset and anger are handled poorly by the state apparatus, it may explode without any control, says the academic from Indonesia.
The intensity and extensivity of the protests, bringing together students, labor unions, civil society, and ordinary citizens across cities, show they are more than a single-issue movement; they are a national expression of discontent with the direction of government and the political class, according to Ear. The Indonesian academic points out the role of social media in rapidly conveying the situation but without control or verification, adding that it may ignite more anger and emulate similar actions in different places. While the academic is unsure whether the protests are directed at the government or parliament, he draws attention to the fact that the seed of resentment has been sown, meaning that if the government cannot address people’s grievances, it may become more problematic in the future.