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View all search resultsGrowing discontent with policymaking keeps students on streets
From fuel price hikes to multibillion-dollar government programs, a growing list of grievances has fueled recurring protests during President Prabowo Subianto’s first two years in office, highlighting widening public dissatisfaction with the administration’s policy direction.
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University students clash with police during a protest against government policies, including state budget spending, the free meals program and expanded military roles in civilian affairs, on June 15 in Jakarta. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
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rom fuel price hikes to multibillion-dollar government programs, a growing list of grievances has fueled recurring protests during President Prabowo Subianto’s first year and a half in office, highlighting widening public dissatisfaction with the administration’s policy direction.
Over the past week, a fresh wave of student-led demonstrations have swept Jakarta and several other cities as public frustration over rising living costs, a weakening rupiah and broader economic pressures intensified following the government’s decision to raise non-subsidised fuel prices by more than 30 percent last week.
Thousands of students from universities across Greater Jakarta rallied on Friday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, one of the capital’s most prominent landmarks, in a protest dubbed #MenujuIndonesiaBangkrut (Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia). Protesters accused the government of neglecting the economic struggles of ordinary Indonesians while continuing to fund costly flagship programs.
Among their demands were cuts to what they described as “wasteful state spending”, lower fuel and staple food prices, measures to stabilize the rupiah and a halt to major government initiatives, including Prabowo’s flagship free nutritious meal program, which has been allocated Rp 268 trillion (US$15.1 billion) this year.
The protests continued through Monday and spread to other cities, including Semarang in Central Java, Surabaya in East Java, Medan in North Sumatra, Lampung province and Bandung in West Java, where clashes between demonstrators and police were reported.
Read also: Military deployment against student protest draws flak
Tensions also surfaced on Monday during a public discussion at Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM), which featured Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, after a group of students disrupted the event and demanded it be halted. Sudaryono later claimed he was struck during the commotion before being escorted from the venue by security personnel.
