Indonesian students protest fuel costs and Prabowo spending plans
About 1,500 students rallied in Jakarta as Indonesia faces fiscal pressure, a weaker rupiah and anger over prices, AP and Reuters reported.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
About 1,500 Indonesian students rallied in Jakarta on Friday against President Prabowo Subianto’s economic policies, pressing the government to cut fuel and food prices as fiscal strain builds, AP and Reuters reported. The protest reflected wider pressure on Southeast Asia’s largest economy as global supply disruptions and energy costs weigh on the import-dependent country.
The demonstrators set out five demands, with lower fuel and food prices at the center, according to AP and Reuters. They also called for the government to scale back welfare programmes they described as costly and wasteful, including Prabowo’s free meals plan and village cooperative initiatives.
Students wearing yellow university jackets gathered after Friday prayers and marched toward the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, a central Jakarta landmark, AP and Reuters reported. Organisers called the rally “Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia.”
Security forces put about 6,000 police and soldiers on duty for the march, according to AP and Reuters. Organisers told reporters that some students were prevented from joining by police and military officials, and scuffles broke out when protesters tried to push past police lines and metal barricades.
Currency pressure and anger over prices
Indonesia has held fuel prices steady despite global energy spikes and supply chain disruption linked to the US and Israel’s war on Iran, AP and Reuters reported. The rupiah weakened to a record low of 18,000 to the US dollar earlier in June, down from 16,000 in March.
The government introduced a 32 percent price increase this week, angering many Indonesians, according to AP and Reuters. The protest in Jakarta targeted both the immediate cost of living and the government’s broader spending choices.
Prabowo’s free meals programme, valued at $15bn a year, is intended to address poverty and malnutrition, AP and Reuters reported. The programme has also faced a corruption investigation, and Prabowo dismissed its head in early June.
Rafael Arreva, a student protester, told Reuters in front of a police blockade that spending on free meals had contributed to a fiscal situation in which subsidies were withdrawn. Protesters also urged the government to make spending more targeted.
Military role also challenged
The students also demanded limits on the military’s role in civilian government, saying its expansion threatened Indonesia’s young democracy, AP and Reuters reported. The issue added a political dimension to a protest centered largely on prices and public spending.
Yatalathof Ma’shum Imawan, chair of the student group that organised the rally, told The Associated Press that the government was “in denial” about current conditions. He urged Prabowo to acknowledge mistakes and stop denying them.
Indonesia’s last mass protests were in August, when demonstrators demanded housing reforms, according to AP and Reuters. Clashes between protesters and security forces at that time left at least 13 people dead.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.