Debris litters the street as police officers take their position following violent protests against lawmakers' allowance and police brutality after a delivery rider was allegedly run over by a police armoured vehicle during clashes between riot police and students protesters, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. - AP
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto scrapped plans to travel to China to attend a major international summit, underlining the government’s growing concern about the violent protests that have rocked the South-East Asian nation this week.
Prabowo has declined the invitation from the Chinese government, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said in a statement on Saturday evening (Aug 31). "Due to domestic dynamics, the President wishes to continue to monitor the situation directly, as well as to lead directly and seek the best solution,” he said.
Several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, are among those attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin that kicks off on Sunday.
The last-minute cancellation comes soon after the demonstrations turned violent on Friday, leaving at least three people dead and dozens of public facilities destroyed.
Protests worsened overnight across Indonesia’s major cities, as demonstrators defied the President’s earlier call for calm. The demonstrations had begun on Monday due to rising discontent over jobs and wages, especially when contrasted with the perceived wealth of Prabowo’s lawmaker allies. The death of a motorcycle taxi driver, crushed by a police armoured vehicle on Thursday evening, further fuelled anger.
The president has ordered "firm measures” against "anarchic acts,” National Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said in a televised statement, alongside Indonesian Military commander Agus Subiyanto on Saturday.
While citizens have the right to expression and assembly, "demonstrations currently taking place in several regions tend to violate” the law, Listyo said, citing the burning of buildings and public facilities and the attacks on police headquarters.
Social media users in Indonesia also reported not being able to use TikTok Live - a platform that’s been widely used to broadcast demonstrations - on Saturday evening. In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said the feature had been "voluntarily suspended” for the coming days in light of the escalating violence.
The Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs earlier this week urged ByteDance and Meta Platforms Inc. to help moderate hate-filled content related to the protests.
Prabowo, who came to power 10 months ago, is facing a major test as he attempts to execute his agenda to supercharge growth in South-East Asia’s largest economy.
Analysts have cast doubt on official data showing economic growth accelerated last quarter, as consumers drastically pared back spending, while investments and factory activity also shrank.
The Ministry of Manpower reported 42,000 workers were laid off in the first half of 2025, a 32 per cent jump from a year ago, though many suspect the number could be much higher. The job cuts are eroding the income of an already-shrinking middle class.
Three people died and five were injured in the eastern city of Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to a report by CNN Indonesia. The mayor and other top officials were evacuated, it said.
A number of people were also injured in Bandung, about 2.5 hours by car from the capital, Mayor Muhammad Farhan said in a text message on Saturday. Four buildings, including a legislative guest house, were completely destroyed by arson.
In Jakarta, looters on Saturday afternoon stormed the home of lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni, who recently sparked public anger after he called protesters "the most stupid people in the world” for calling for the dissolution of the House of Representatives.
According to a Tempo report, intruders damaged a car parked in Sahroni’s garage and took valuables inside the house, including watches, memorabilia and kitchen appliances.
That came just hours after violent demonstrations on Friday evening in the capital, where several police stations were targeted by crowds. One in the city’s east was pelted with Molotov cocktails, according to a report by Detik. Graffiti also filled the walls and sidewalks surrounding the Jakarta police headquarters, situated next to the Indonesian Stock Exchange in the central business district.
Portions of Jakarta’s inner city toll road remained shut on Saturday after seven toll gates, including those near the national parliament’s headquarters, were burned. The Transjakarta citywide bus services were also completely shut on Saturday after seven stops were burned overnight. Several subway stations were closed as a safety precaution.
The unrest in Indonesia comes in a week of political tumult for the broader region after a Thai court ousted Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for ethics violations.
The Indonesian president urged the public to be vigilant against "elements that always want to cause unrest and chaos.” Prabowo also criticised the police’s response, promised to hold officers accountable for the death of the motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan, and visited his family home on Friday night to offer his condolences.
Amnesty International called for a thorough and independent investigation of the police crackdown and the killing of Kurniawan to "ensure that all perpetrators, including those at command level, face fair trials publicly, and not mere internal or administrative sanctions,” the group said in a statement on Friday. - Bloomberg
