Heavy Police Presence in Jakarta as Students Protest Prabowo

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(Bloomberg) — Indonesian authorities deployed thousands of police and soldiers as students gathered in the capital, angry at the rising cost of living and calling on President Prabowo Subianto to rein in big-ticket spending.

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Joint security personnel, including 500 soldiers, will help manage the planned protest, Jakarta police spokesman Budi Hermanto said, urging participants to avoid vandalism and refrain from carrying weapons. 

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Students have been making their way toward the landmark Plaza Indonesia traffic circle, though local outlet Tempo reported some of their buses were blocked. Police in bulletproof vests were seen lining up around Plaza Indonesia, with patrol vehicles, a firetruck and an armored police vehicle on site. Bisnis Indonesia reported there were more than 6,000 security personnel in the area.

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The deployment underscores government concerns about the potential for large-scale protests, even though civil and labor groups are not expected to participate. Violent demonstrations last year over the state of the economy led Prabowo to fire his finance minister, and massive protests in 2024, just before Prabowo took power, led parliament to scrap plans to revise election laws.

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“The protests last year began when the public saw the inequality between them and public officials, how much wealth public officials have,” said Wana Alamsyah, head of the Law and Investigation Division at Indonesia Corruption Watch, noting that in a time of crisis public officials could take pay cuts. “They prefer to increase the fuel price for example and so on, rather than cutting their wages.”

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Students from several campuses across Jakarta were invited to join the demonstration, according to BEM UI, the University of Indonesia’s student executive body. With Friday prayers having concluded, crowds are expected to gradually swell. Traffic diversions and road closures may be imposed depending on the crowd size and conditions on the ground, Budi said earlier.

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Several of the protesters’ demands focus on the economy, aligning with foreign investors who have pulled out funds and driven down both stocks and the rupiah, Asia’s worst-performing currency this year. Authorities have sought to stem the outflows, including with a surprise interest-rate hike this week, but the students say the government is still on the wrong track.

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“Indonesia’s economy has deteriorated, but the government has unfortunately only made matters worse,” BEM UI said in a statement ahead of the demonstration, mentioning concerns about the apparent erosion of the the central bank’s autonomy. “Fiscal policy is leaking, Bank Indonesia’s independence is being stripped away, and the government’s communication with the public remains far from adequate.”

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Civil society groups indicated earlier this week that they won’t join the students, for now. Said Iqbal, the head of one of Indonesia’s largest labor groups who was recently appointed as a special presidential staff adviser on labor affairs and worker welfare, said there were no plans for workers to take part in Friday’s protest.