Jakarta Student Protests
Hundreds of Jakarta Students Protest Prabowo's Economic Policies, Fuel Hike, and Military Roles
Anonymous
Hundreds of Indonesian students in Jakarta protested President Prabowo Subianto’s spending and economic priorities, including a recent decision to raise gasoline prices, marching under slogans such as “Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia” and “Towards Indonesia’s Bankruptcy.” Organizers say the demonstrations are aimed at stopping Prabowo’s free-meals and village cooperatives programs, reducing “wasteful” budget spending, and lowering prices of fuel and staple necessities, while also criticizing expanded military roles in civilian affairs. Reuters reported protesters faced police and military blockades near a central rally site, with scuffles breaking out as demonstrators tried to reach their planned location. Related student alliances across the metropolitan area are staging actions with similarly focused demands, assembling at university sites before traveling to central Jakarta. Other reporting framed the mobilization as “Reformasi Jilid II,” calling for broader reforms and increased transparency and linking the campaign to the spirit of the 1998 reform movement. Police and education officials urged participants to keep the protests peaceful and seek dialogue, but no immediate policy changes have been announced.
Key Points
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Reuters reported the government had kept gasoline prices unchanged despite a spike in global oil prices “caused by the Iran war,” but said rising fiscal pressure—linked to Prabowo’s spending plans—pushed an “earlier this week” substantial price rise.
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Protesters carried posters including “Cancel the fuel price hike” and “Wall of Shame” describing Prabowo’s cabinet, and student protester Rafael Arreva said the “wasteful spending on free meals” led to a fiscal situation where “subsidies initially provided had been withdrawn.”
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Tempo detailed logistics for the main action: participants would assemble at the FISIP UI field in Depok at 10:00 AM WIB, with a dress code of “a yellow jacket and a black shirt,” and Tempo said the organizer targeted five demands including stopping the MBG (free nutritious meal/Makanan Bergizi Gratis) and “red and white village cooperatives” while also urging price cuts for fuel and necessities.
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In Reuters’ reporting, the students’ critique of expanded military roles was framed as a fear of a return to authoritarianism, with Yatalathof Ma’shum Imawan saying Indonesia could be pushed into bankruptcy “economically, democratically, and morally,” and linking the concern to the country’s “authoritarian era under former President Suharto.”
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