Civilian Unrest in Indonesia: Manifestations of Discontent with the Nation’s Political Elites and Its Military
Trouble broke out in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta on 25 August 2025 when protesters took to the streets around the Presidential Palace, only to be turned back by riot police who resorted to tear gas canisters and water cannon to control the surging crowds. The protests turned violent after Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old online ride-sharing motorcycle taxi driver, was killed outside the House of Representatives on 28 August. He died after being run over by a speeding armoured police car while he was delivering a food order that had been placed on the Gojek app. Kurniawan was not directly involved in the protests. The incident was captured on video and uploaded onto social media. The seven officers in the armoured car were subsequently arrested. By the next day, protests had spread right across the Indonesian archipelago, from Sumatra in the far west to Papua at the eastern extremity. Government buildings and police stations were prime targets. Two council office buildings in Makassar in South Sulawesi were set alight on 29/30 August, causing the deaths of three people. Rioters in Surabaya in East Java attacked and set the Grahadi Building on fire on 30 August. Some elites fell victim to doxxing, as their gated community properties were broken into and looted after their locations were publicised on social media platforms. Ahmad Sahroni, a particularly unpopular parliamentarian, was among the prominent targets of the irate masses.
Indonesia’s citizens are unhappy with the nation’s political elite class, more so after recent revelations that all 580 members of the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, or DPR) had been given a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah in 2024, adding up to a monthly income of 100 million rupiah. At the time of writing, one pound sterling was exchangeable for just over 22, 000 rupiah. These substantially inflated incomes have not gone down well with the public during a cost-of-living crisis, compounded by high youth unemployment and a prevalence of low-paid jobs in the informal sector of the economy. There also wider concerns related to corruption, cronyism, and shortcomings in ethical governance within government institutions.
Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia since October 2024, is a son-in-law of the deposed military dictator General Suharto, under whom he served as commander of the elite special forces. He went on to become defence minister under former president Joko Widodo, between 2019 and 2024. At a televised news conference on 31 August, Prabowo promised to cut the housing allowance that had sparked the troubles. After initially cancelling his scheduled trip to China, he managed to find time to attend the spectacular Victory Day military parade in Beijing on 3 September, marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Asia. Despite some conciliatory noises to appease the protesters, Prabowo also promised to come down hard on any further public expressions of discontent, using rubber bullets and other deterrents if so required.
On 5 September, the DPR announced “a six-point resolution in response to the ‘17+8 People’s Demands’ raised during recent nationwide protests.” These comprised short-term demands requiring a response by 5 September 2025, and longer-term reforms to be implemented by 31 August 2026. The DPR’s six points included ending housing allowances for all DPR members, effective 31 August; suspension of all overseas working visits, from 1 September; and cuts to allowances relating to electricity, mobile phones, and transportation.
The current spate of anti-government protests was preceded by the nationwide Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia) movement which was launched on 17 February 2025 by university students and civil society organisations opposed to so-called ‘state capture’, as shown by the increasing encroachment of the military and National Police in civilian institutions, with extended roles in civilian bureaucracy, in a form of militarist crony capitalism. Proposed cuts to education budgets, threatening tuition fees and teacher welfare, were particular concerns. The money from spending cuts was intended to be diverted to Prabowo’s flagship nationwide programme of free and nutritious school lunches. For a time, the demonstrations faded away only to reappear. Between 10 and 13 August, proposed increases in land and property taxes led to further protests in Pati Regency in Central Java, just before the current round of anti-government demonstrations.
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, made up of more than 17,000 islands spread across three time zones. It is the world’s fourth most populous country, with a population of 283.5 million in 2024, including over 600 ethnic groups speaking more than 700 languages, and also its third-largest democracy. The nation, whose motto is Bhinneka Tungal Ika (Unity in Diversity), has seen a growing disconnect between its political elites and ordinary citizens for some time. Elites have cocooned themselves in high-end properties and enjoy a luxury lifestyle, while fellow citizens struggle to meet their daily needs. This is all too familiar a story right across the world, although Indonesia remains a potent example of inequality between the elites and the masses. Hopefully, the current protests will lead to some meaningful reform of Indonesia’s political system, especially since early responses from the government and legislators seem mostly positive.
Ashis Banerjee