Indonesia scraps lawmakers’ allowances that triggered deadly protests
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday vowed to revoke lawmakers’ perks, including a controversial $3,000 monthly housing allowance, after nationwide protests left six people dead.
Flanked by political leaders in Jakarta, Subianto announced that housing allowances would be scrapped and overseas work trips halted.
"They will now immediately revoke several policies in the Indonesian House of Representatives … and follow up on the amount of allowances for members of the House of Representatives and the moratorium on working visits to foreign countries,” he said.
The move follows five days of unrest triggered by reports that all 580 lawmakers had been receiving an allowance nearly ten times the Jakarta minimum wage.
Demonstrations escalated after 21-year-old delivery rider Affan Kurniawan was killed by a police armoured vehicle on Thursday. Authorities have confirmed that seven officers are under investigation.
Subianto urged citizens to keep protests peaceful, warning against violence.
“Voice your aspirations in a proper and peaceful manner, without destruction, without violence, without looting, without riots, without acts that damage public facilities,” he said. “If you damage public facilities, it means you are damaging and wasting the people’s money.”
Calling for calm, the president appealed for unity.
“I sincerely ask all citizens to trust the government and remain calm. The government that I lead, together with all political parties, including those outside the government, is determined to always fight for the interests of the people and the nation,” he said.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
