Mass protests compel Indonesia to scale back lawmakers' perks

Jakarta: Indonesian political parties have agreed to revoke several perks and privileges for lawmakers, President Prabowo Subianto said on Sunday, as his government sought to calm protests that have killed five people and triggered the worst unrest in decades in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Demonstrations began on Monday over what protesters denounced as excessive pay and housing allowances for parliamentarians. Tensions escalated on Friday after a motorcycle taxi driver was killed during police action at a protest site, sparking riots. Homes of political party members and state buildings were ransacked or set ablaze, unnerving investors and sending Indonesian stocks and the rupiah sharply lower on Friday.

Flanked by political party leaders at the Presidential Palace, Prabowo said he had instructed the military and police to take firm action against rioters and looters, warning that some acts amounted to "terrorism" and "treason."


"Leaders in parliament have conveyed that they will revoke a number of parliament policies, including the size of allowances for members of parliament and a moratorium on overseas work trips," Prabowo said.

He added: "To the police and the military, I have ordered them to take the firmest possible action against the destruction of public facilities, looting at homes of individuals and economic centres, according to the laws."

The protests mark the most serious challenge to Prabowo's administration, which has faced little political opposition since he took office nearly a year ago. The president cancelled a planned trip to China and instead met party leaders and senior ministers at the Palace on Sunday.

Many arriving officials used civilian license plates instead of special government tags, a witness said, in an apparent move to avoid drawing public anger. Military personnel were deployed to guard the Palace, ministers' homes and other key government installations.

'NOT ENOUGH'
It remains unclear who is behind the rioting and looting that followed the protests, initially organised by student groups. Muzammil Ihsan, head of the All Indonesian Students' Executives Body, told Reuters that reducing lawmakers' perks was "not enough" and said further demonstrations were being considered.

"The government must resolve deep-rooted problems. The anger on the streets is not without cause," he said.

Tegar Afriansyah, head of the Indonesian Student League for Democracy, said the measures do not address the root problem of "political oligarchy and an unequal economic structure," calling Prabowo's orders to security forces "repressive and intimidating."

Amnesty International's Indonesia office criticised the president's use of terms such as "treason" and "terrorism" as excessive.

Meanwhile, TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, said it had suspended its live-streaming feature in Indonesia for several days.

The death toll rose to five on Sunday, the disaster management agency in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, said. The agency confirmed that an online motorcycle taxi driver was beaten to death by a mob accusing him of being an intelligence agent, while three others died in an arson attack on a local parliament building on Friday.