Hundreds of students rallied in Jakarta yesterday to protest the spending priorities of President Prabowo Subianto’s government, including this week’s decision to raise gasoline prices.
Calling the protest “Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia”, university students marched towards central Jakarta’s iconic Bundaran HI landmark, and organisers said some were blocked from reaching the designated protest site by police and military personnel.
The government had kept gasoline prices unchanged in South-East Asia’s largest economy despite the spike in global oil prices caused by the Iran conflict.
But fiscal pressure on the budget, which has been weighed down by Prabowo’s spending plans, has been rising, prompting a substantial price rise earlier this week. The students carried posters with slogans such as “Cancel the fuel price hike” and “Wall of Shame” describing Prabowo’s Cabinet.
Yatalathof Ma’shum Imawan, a student leader from the University of Indonesia, said the protesters had five demands, including stopping Prabowo’s flagship free-meals and village cooperatives programmes, lowering prices of fuel and staple foods, and stopping “wasteful” spending.
“Wasteful spending on free meals has led to a fiscal situation where subsidies initially provided had been withdrawn,” student protester Rafael Arreva said in front of a police blockade.
The expansion of military roles in civilian affairs by Prabowo was also targeted by students and activists, who fear it could lead Indonesia back to its authoritarian era under former President Suharto.
“We want to show that things are not okay. We don’t want Indonesia to truly go bankrupt, but these behaviours prove that Indonesia will go bankrupt economically, democratically, and morally,” Yatalathof said.
A Reuters witness saw hundreds of students being blocked by hundreds of police officers and military personnel as they approached the protest location.
Scuffles broke out when some protesters tried to break through police lines and metal barricades set up to block their way.
Jakarta police did not immediately respond to questions regarding the blockade of protesters.
The free meals programme, which aims to reach 83 million children and pregnant women, is seen by Prabowo’s critics as inefficient, prone to massive financial leakage and an attempt to win political support in remote areas.
Thousands of children have also suffered food poisoning from meals served under the programme, raising questions about governance and oversight. — Reuters
