Indonesia has been having a wave of violent protests since last Monday (25), after the release of a 33% salary increase to 580 deputies in the country, raising the average salary to $ 14,000. Thousands of protesters mobilized in several cities. The acts also resulted in episodes of violence, with attacks on government buildings, burnt vehicles and invasions to police stations.
At least three people died and five were injured after a fire in a government building in the city of Makassar, provoked by protesters during the protests, a local authority said on Saturday.
According to M. Fadli, head of Makassar’s Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), to the state news agency “Antara”, the victims were trapped in a room during the fire, while other injured jumped from the building to escape the flames. The incident occurred on Friday night (29), when a crowd gathered in front of the building and protesters launched Molotov cocktails.
Amid the wave of protests, Indonesia President Pabowo Subiananto canceled his official trip to Beijing, where he would participate in the Victory Day parade on September 3. The decision was announced on Saturday by the presidential spokesman, Prasetyo Hadi.
In the capital, Jakarta, protesters burned vehicles near a police barracks and attacked at least five police stations. In addition, a crowd broke into the residence of Deputy Ahmad Sahroni, in the Tanjung Priok district, destroying the entrance gate and plundering the interior, including clothes, shoes and the safe, according to local witnesses.
Popular discontent began after the release that the 580 members of the House of Representatives will receive a salary increase of 33%, raising their average monthly remuneration to 230 million rules (approximately US $ 14,000). The tension also intensified after the death of a young Gojek app driver, hit by a police car during a protest.
National Police Chief Listyo Semin Prabowo said there is a “climbing” in acts in various regions, which include fires and attacks on public headquarters. “We are observing a climb of the tendency to commit anarchic acts in various areas. These acts vary from burning buildings, attacking headquarters, provoking fires in public facilities and other actions that violate the law and can lead to criminal accusations,” said Prabowo.
Protesters ask, among other things, the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, installed in October 2024, and the revision of the salary increase, considered by the group as excessive in the face of the economic reality of the population.
