On August 28, rideshare driver Affan Kurniawan was killed by the Indonesian police force. The 21-year old was caught in the middle of a protest in Jakarta while completing a delivery order, when he was run over, seemingly intentionally, by a tactical armoured police vehicle.
The August 28 protest was initially organized by the Indonesian Labour Party, Partai Buruh, and grew in size as the night went on. This was the second wave of the mass protests which have been growing in Indonesia since August 26.
The initial riots are a culmination of months of economic and political frustration after it was announced mid-August that the 580 members of the House of Representatives (DPR) would receive a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah (approximately 4,207 CAD) in addition to their salaries. This allowance would make their earnings about 10 times the monthly average minimum wage.
The protests have gotten increasingly violent and clearly defined as protesters are taking to the streets to voice their demands and express their anger against police brutality. Following Kurniawan’s death, demonstrators have consolidated their demands and are protesting with clearer objectives. As of September 2, 20 people have been reported missing, and over 3,000 people have been arrested. The police have continued to fire tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors in the streets, homes, and institutions. Two universities in Bandung have seen violent clashes between the police and student protestors. The total death toll of the demonstrations has amounted to at least ten people.
Over the last few months, Indonesians have suffered from mass lay-offs and a sharp decline in purchasing power. Unemployment in Indonesia ranks highest among all Southeast Asia. Furthermore, the government has been considering increasing taxes and lowering wages for teachers, with propositions such as a 250 per cent property tax hike in Central Java, which was later withdrawn.
All this is happening in the background while the government announced that the DPR’s wages and allowances were being raised to 100 million rupiah (about 8,415 CAD) a month total. Critics argue that the new allowance is not only excessive, but also insensitive at a time when most people are already struggling due to government policies.
Human rights organizations in Indonesia have spoken out against these protests, with Wirya Adiwena, Deputy Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, saying that the government has been “bringing back old playbooks” from the New Order by blaming the protests on foreign intervention, as well as plans to slowly reintegrate the army into civilian lives by allocating more civilian posts to military officers. These policies already sparked protests in February 2025 during the “Indonesia Gelap,” or “Dark Indonesia” protests, which had also grown to include social issues such as police violence, inefficient state projects, and large scale corruption.
On August 29, several informational Indonesian social media accounts released the “17+8 demands” from the people, summarizing demands that have been circulating among demonstrators. The government has been given a deadline of September 5, 2025 to address the 17 short term demands, and until next year to fulfill the final 8. The 17+8 paper has been reproduced and used as a symbol of the protests not only in Indonesia, but by the Indonesian diaspora all around the world, from New York to Berlin to Melbourne, giving a clear and concrete voice to the demands of the Indonesian people.
Overall, these demands include a more efficient and transparent use of state budgets, for government officials to take accountability and listen to their people, and to officially and thoroughly investigate Kurniawan’s death as well as those implicated. The list also calls to reveal the DPR members’ involvement in corruption, reform the DPR and police, and facilitate “open dialogue” with the protestors and organizations. This paper has been received and is currently being reviewed by the president Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo Subianto served as a high-ranking military general under ex-dictator Suharto’s bloody regime (1967 to 1998). He has been accused of human rights abuses, being involved in the disappearance of pro-democracy activists, and perpetuating the East-Timor genocide. He has still never been held accountable for his actions. Today, he is the president of the world’s third largest democracy.
Even though Prabowo was democratically elected, his rise to power has also been seen as somewhat undemocratic, as the constitution was amended so that his vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, would be able to run at his side.
Upon being elected, Prabowo promised to “work democratically,” but warned that he would not be afraid of taking “decisive action” if necessary, raising concerns that he might resort to autocratic or military means to remain in power.
In the streets, people are demanding an end to the use of military and police forces against civilians and to withdraw soldiers from security operations during the protests, as well as a release of the arrested protesters. Civilians are further pushing to denounce the criminalisation of the right to assemble, associate, and protest peacefully.
Following civilian outrage, the Indonesian National Police’s Code of Ethics Committee (KKEP) has dishonourably discharged Commissioner Kosmas Kaju Gae on September 3, after finding him guilty of his involvement in the death of Affan Kurniawan. The same day, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, the deputy speaker of the DPR, announced that he would discuss the 17+8 demands of the people with faction leaders following an audience with student groups.
The protests were especially successful in forcing Prabowo to backtrack on his plans to increase the benefits for members of Parliament, although he also ordered the military and police to take action against rioters and looters after state buildings and homes of political party members were ransacked or set on fire during the demonstrations, comparing these elements of violence with acts of terrorism and treason.
These protests serve as an important trial for Prabowo’s crisis management, and have so far been the biggest test to Indonesian democracy in recent years.