STUDENT groups planned a protest on the first anniversary of Prabowo Subianto’s government in Jakarta, two months after violent demonstrations rocked the country, as the president held a Cabinet meeting to mark his first year in office.
Protesters gathered yesterday near the presidential palace to protest against government policies, a coalition of student bodies known locally as BEM SI said on Instagram, accompanied by hashtags #1YearIsEnough and #1YearOfContinuousProblems.
“Seeing the one-year momentum ... makes us concerned for the fate of Indonesia’s future,” BEM SI said. In late August, student-led protests against government policies and lawmaker perks spread nationwide.
After a delivery driver was hit and killed by a police vehicle, the protests escalated and the death toll rose, presenting the biggest challenge to Prabowo since he was elected last year.
Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a politics researcher at Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency, said Prabowo’s first year was marred by a lack of public participation in his policies.
“Generally, Prabowo’s government experienced some turbulence in the first year, especially with regards to a lack of openness and participation,” he said, citing the President’s signature free school meals programme.
The scheme, which aims to give meals to millions of students and pregnant women, has been hit by controversy after thousands of students fell sick from food poisoning.
Prabowo has promised to lift economic growth to 8% during his five-year term, which runs until 2029, and has launched multiple stimulus packages to spark activity.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is losing billions every year to illegal tin mining and smuggling, the president said yesterday.
“The losses are quite significant, estimated at 40 trillion rupiah (RM10.1bil) per year, and this has been going on for almost 20 years,” he said.
Prabowo added the military was involved in operations to stop illegal tin smuggling from the Bangka-Belitung Islands, a hub for the illicit activity.
“Over 20 years, that’s 800 trillion (RM203.4bil). What could we build with that?” he asked.
Earlier this month, Prabowo visited Bangka-Belitung Islands Province to witness the seizure of assets from tin smelters implicated in a corruption case.
Six smelters were seized in that case and handed over to state-owned mining company PT Timah TBK.
Indonesia’s Attorney General ST Burhanuddin also said around US$800mil (RM3.37bil) had been returned to the government’s coffers from palm oil companies, which the president said were part of huge “state losses”.
He added that three palm oil companies had been prosecuted over “economic loss to the state” amounting to 17 trillion rupiah (RM4.2bil), most of which was being returned. — Reuters
