Police in Jakarta set up checkpoints Monday after days of violent protests forced President Prabowo Subianto to cut perks for lawmakers, including a housing allowance worth nearly 10 times the city’s minimum wage.
At a televised press conference on Sunday, Prabowo stood alongside leaders of eight political parties to announce the cuts. Lawmakers will lose their $3,000 monthly housing allowance and face a freeze on taxpayer-funded overseas trips, he said.
“These allowances will be scrapped starting Monday,” Prabowo told reporters, calling it a step to ease public anger. He also ordered security forces to take “firm action” after mobs torched politicians’ homes and government offices.
By Monday, police had tightened security across Jakarta with checkpoints and street patrols. A police spokesman told Kompas TV the measures were meant to “protect citizens and create a sense of security.”
The protests began last week, triggered by outrage over lawmakers’ generous pay and perks. Anger deepened after 21-year-old delivery driver Affan Kurniawan was killed on Thursday when a police vehicle ran him over during a rally. A video of the incident spread quickly online, fueling outrage against security forces.
Witnesses said an armored police truck suddenly sped into the crowd, striking Kurniawan. He was reportedly working on a food delivery order at the time. Prabowo has promised an investigation, pledged support for Kurniawan’s family, and said seven officers have been detained.
The unrest has already left at least six people dead. Among them was Rheza Sendy Pratama, a 21-year-old student at Amikom Yogyakarta University, whose death during Friday’s protests remains under investigation. In Makassar, three people were killed after protesters set fire to a council building. Another man died in the same city after being beaten by a mob who suspected him of being an intelligence officer, officials said.
Demonstrations have spread beyond Jakarta, hitting cities including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, and Medan.
Prabowo said his government respects the right to protest but warned that “when demonstrations turn anarchic, destroying public facilities, endangering lives, and attacking homes, this becomes a serious violation of law.” He added that violent acts could amount to treason or terrorism, which the state “will not tolerate.”
Some officials have already been directly targeted. Looters ransacked properties owned by politicians, including the Jakarta home of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, according to state media. She was not there at the time.
The crisis forced Prabowo to cancel a planned trip to China for a military parade marking the end of World War II. TikTok, which has over 100 million users in Indonesia, also suspended its live-streaming feature temporarily in response to the unrest.
Civil society groups, including the Alliance of Indonesian Women, postponed their planned protests at parliament on Monday, citing fears of a crackdown. Student groups also canceled demonstrations, saying the conditions had become “impossible.”
