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View all search resultsSoutheast Asian solidarity ‘important’ to bolster digital activism
Solidarity from people in other Southeast Asian nations may help support a people’s movement in a country and put more pressure on the government to make reforms on policies, experts and activists have said.
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A demonstrator waves a pirate flag from Japanese anime One Piece on Aug. 30, an internet trend used to criticize government policies, during a protest in in Surabaya following the death of an ojol (online motorcycle transportation) driver who was run over by a police tactical vehicle on Aug. 28 during earlier rallies against low wages and financial perks for lawmakers in Jakarta. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
O
n the heels of the public protests that broke out in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, experts and public figures have underlined the importance of transnational solidarity to create a better digital activism landscape in the region, as social media has become the forefront of the governments’ policymaking process.
The region has seen a surge of public protests this year, with the Global Protest Tracker recording at least 17 protests as of October in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, among other countries. The motivations behind the rallies range from worsening economic conditions to constitutional violations.
Indonesia alone saw a string of protests one year after President Prabowo Subianto took office in October 2024, with the biggest one happening in late August over lawmakers’ lavish perks amid economic inequality.
The protests in Jakarta later turned into nationwide riots over police brutality, following the death of 21-year-old ojol (online motorcycle transportation) driver Affan Kurniawan, who was run over and killed by a police tactical vehicle.
His death, caught on video and widely shared on social media, moved Thai content creator Yammi to initiate a trend on X for Southeast Asians to place food orders for ojol drivers in Jakarta through ride hailing apps.
“I felt like the struggle that I saw [among Indonesian protesters] was a reflection of my own society. Not just in Thailand, but everywhere else as well,” Yammi said during a discussion held by the Habibie Center in South Jakarta on Thursday.
The trend has since organically prompted the #SEAblings hashtag, a play on the acronym of Southeast Asia and siblings, as users from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and other countries place food orders for ojol drivers from their home countries.
