According to TRTworld.com, Indonesian lawmakers currently earn around 100 million rupiah (£4,499; $6,150) per month, which is over 30 times the average national income, according to local media reports. Authorities detained more than 1,240 demonstrators after five days of protests.
The intensity of protests comes from two overlapping dynamics, according to Sophal Ear, a Cambodian-American academic at Arizona State University. First, the economic strain: rising living costs, uneven job opportunities, and persistent inequality have sharpened public anger. Second, there is a sense that political institutions are unresponsive—whether in handling corruption scandals, environmental degradation, or policy decisions seen as favoring elites, Ear tells TRT World.
In recent months, budget measures have had both direct and indirect impacts on the Indonesian economy, as less money has been pumped into economic activities, an Indonesian academic who wishes to remain anonymous tells TRT World. Among other areas, university campuses have also seen protests, signaling the frustration of the country's young population with recent government policies. There are also waves of layoffs among young people, which coincides with difficulties in finding jobs for younger generations, says the Indonesian academic. The protests themselves targeted the House of Representatives in Jakarta, especially by university students, the academic added.
According to footage, the death of Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old motorcycle delivery driver, happened after a police armored vehicle ran him over late on Thursday in the middle of protesters in Jakarta, Java—the world's most populous island. President Prabowo promised a proper investigation into Kurniawan's death. On Monday, the national police's accountability department head said that their ongoing investigation found criminal acts committed by two officers in a police vehicle.
Some experts rate current protests as "among the most significant outbreaks of protests since the advent of reformasi," which refers to a democratization period following the resignation of Suharto nearly three decades ago. While the central government says the protests got violent after improper police conduct against Kurniawan's death, other policies like a significant tax rise on land property by local governments (Pati Regency) continue to fuel public anger across different provinces, according to the academic. The president firmly warned against the destruction of public buildings and other properties, as demonstrators looted houses of some lawmakers, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, over the weekend.
According to Jakarta's governor, protesters burned buses, subways, and other infrastructure. There is a mob mentality among the people and sometimes coincides with a copycat mindset to conduct that makes the anger and disappointment expressed intensely. If this mindset and anger were responded to badly by the state apparatus, it may explode without any control, says the academic from Indonesia.
The intensity and extensivity of protests bringing together students, labor unions, civil society, and ordinary citizens across cities show they are more than a single-issue movement; they are a national expression of discontent with the direction of government and the political class, according to Ear. The Indonesian academic points out the role of social media in conveying the situation very rapidly but without control or verification, adding that it may ignite more anger and emulate similar actions in different places. While the academic is not sure whether the protests are directed at the government or the parliament, he draws attention to the fact that the seed of resentment has occurred, meaning if the government cannot address people's grievances, it may become more problematic in the future.