Hundreds of Indonesian students have rallied in Jakarta to protest the spending priorities of President Prabowo Subianto’s government, including this week’s decision to raise gasoline prices.
Describing the demonstration as “Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia,” university students marched towards central Jakarta’s iconic Bundaran HI landmark, while organisers said some protesters were blocked from reaching the designated protest site by police and military personnel.
On Friday, the students carried posters with slogans such as “Cancel the fuel price hike” and “Wall of Shame,” used to describe Prabowo’s cabinet.
According to a student leader from the University of Indonesia, Yatalathof Ma’shum Imawan, the protesters presented five key demands, including a review of President Prabowo’s flagship free-meals and village cooperatives programmes, a reduction in fuel and staple food prices, and an end to what they described as “wasteful” government spending.
“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.
Similarly, student protester Rafael Arreva, speaking in front of a police blockade, said that excessive spending on free meals had led to a fiscal situation where initial subsidies were withdrawn.
The protest comes after the government maintained stable fuel prices for months in Southeast Asia’s largest economy despite earlier spikes in global oil prices triggered by the Iran war.
However, fiscal pressure on the national budget, already weighed down by President Prabowo’s spending plans, has been increasing, leading to a substantial price hike earlier this week.