TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Growing dissent puts Prabowo’s leadership to test
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Protesters light candles and flashlights on their cell phones on Feb. 21, 2025, during a night-time protest near the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta. They demanded that the government review budget cuts and the large allocation of funds to the free nutritious meals program. (JP /Muhammad Zaenuddin)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto is facing a major test of his leadership as signs of dissent against his new government have appeared in the form of student protests and the possible emergence of an opposition party.
Frustration at austerity measures introduced by the Prabowo administration to fund his ambitious campaign promises spilled into the streets last week, when thousands of students rallied against the budget cuts and other policies they say are “not pro-people”.
The protests, dubbed Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia), began last Monday and were initially planned to conclude last Thursday in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. But students continued to rally in some major cities on Friday, with activists and workers joining them in opposing Prabowo’s costly programs.
Tensions ran high on Friday evening when rallies in Jakarta and Makassar descended into violence, with protesters throwing firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at the police, who in turn fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.
The weeklong protests marked the first significant opposition to Prabowo and his government in his four-month presidency, making him the first president in Indonesia’s post-Reform era history to witness the swiftest protest since assuming office.
They demanded the immediate repeal of the presidential instruction issued on Jan. 22, which mandates Rp 306.7 trillion (US$18.7 billion) in cuts to government spending, including on education, to fund his programs, such as the free nutritious meals program, and the establishment of a new sovereign wealth fund called Danantara.
Protesters also called for a full evaluation of the free meals program, an end to the military's growing involvement in civilian affairs and cabinet downsizing. They also rejected former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s involvement in the government.
