Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has announced his plan to revoke lawmaker perks and privileges that sparked nationwide protests, which turned violent in recent days and led to the deaths of half a dozen people.
The nation’s political parties have agreed to cut the benefits, which they hope will now quell the demonstrations.
“Lawmakers will see certain allowances scrapped and overseas work trips suspended under a new moratorium,” Subianto said on Sunday.
Why It Matters
Protests have plagued Indonesia since Monday last week when reports emerged that 580 lawmakers had received a monthly housing allowance of $3,075 (around 50 million rupiah) in addition to their salaries—a measure introduced last year and amounting to almost 10 times the minimum wage in the capital city Jakarta, according to the Associated Press.
The high wages and seemingly affluent level of lifestyle afforded to lawmakers on taxpayer money rankled an electorate struggling with soaring living costs and taxes amid rising unemployment. Student groups, which have driven the protests, say they seek to upend a political oligarchy and end an unequal economic structure in their country.
Additionally, the protests hit a fever pitch after footage of 21-year-old Affan Kurniawan’s death, which many attributed to the security forces, spread on social media. Kurniawan was not part of the protests but merely delivering food when he got caught in the clash between protesters and security forces, and an armored National Police car sped through a crowd and ran him over.
Subianto cancelled a trip to China due to the unrest and spent Sunday speaking with his Cabinet in order to determine a way to end the protests and restore order.
TikTok also suspended livestreaming on its platform in Indonesia for a few days as the riots continued.
Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images // Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
Protesters ramped up their demonstrations by setting fire to parliament buildings in Bandung city on Friday and provincial capital city Makassar on Saturday.
Surabaya, the country’s second largest city, saw protesters storm the regional police headquarters, where they torched vehicles, and fought back against security forces with fireworks and wooden clubs. Looting and rioting also plagued the country wherever protests took place.
Around 950 people were arrested in rallies in Jakarta alone on Thursday, and about 25 officers were hospitalized with serious injuries after protesters turned on them.
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“I sincerely ask all citizens to trust the government and remain calm,” Subianto said, stressing that his government seeks a way to satisfies “the interests of the people and nation,” but that “when demonstrations turn anarchic, destroying public facilities, endangering lives, and attacking private homes or public institutions, this becomes a serious violation of law.”
However, the protests appear set to continue as student protest groups say the concession does not address their deepest issues. Muzammil Ihsan, head of the All Indonesian Students’ Executives Body told Reuters that they had planned more protests for Monday, and will press ahead despite the concession from lawmakers, saying that it falls short of what they want.
“The government must resolve deep-rooted problems. The anger on the streets is not without cause,” Ihsan said.
What People Are Saying
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in his announcement, in part: “Leaders in parliament have conveyed that they will revoke a number of parliament policies, including the size of allowances for members of parliament and a moratorium on overseas work trips,” adding, “To the police and the military, I have ordered them to take action as firm as possible against the destruction of public facilities, looting at homes of individuals and economic centres, according to the laws.”
“I sincerely ask all citizens to trust the government and remain calm,” Subianto said, adding his government “is determined to always fight for the interests of the people and the nation.”
Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi in a statement apologized to China for the president canceling his trip, saying: “This decision was taken with great caution while maintaining good relations with the Chinese government.”
