Riot police clashed with hundreds of students in Jakarta as protests erupted over revelations that lawmakers enjoy lavish housing benefits far above the wages of ordinary Indonesians.
Zig Diaries Politics
Date: Monday, 25 August 2025
Time: 14:30 WAT
Location: 📍 Jakarta, Indonesia
The protests highlight public anger over widening inequality and the privileges of Indonesia’s political elite, coming at a time of economic strain for millions.
Police fired multiple rounds of tear gas as demonstrators hurled stones and
bottles, igniting fires beneath a flyover near the heavily guarded Parliament
complex. Surrounding roads and toll gates were sealed off, triggering hours of
traffic gridlock.
Authorities
confirmed the deployment of more than 1,200 security personnel to contain the
unrest. Video clips circulating on local media showed students chanting slogans
against corruption and calling lawmakers “parasites of the people.”
The protests
were sparked by recent reports that all 580 members of Indonesia’s House of
Representatives receive a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah
(€2,841). That figure is nearly 20 times the legal minimum wage in
provinces such as East Nusa Tenggara and West Papua, where many workers earn as
little as 2.8 million rupiah (€159) per month.
Civil
society groups say the allowance is especially controversial given Indonesia’s
persistent inequality: while Jakarta’s middle class struggles with rising food
and fuel prices, nearly 10% of the population still lives below the poverty
line.
Fact-Check
and Background Context
Housing allowances for MPs were first introduced in 2000 after the fall of
Suharto’s New Order regime, aimed at ensuring legislators could work in Jakarta
without financial constraints.
But watchdog groups like Indonesia Corruption
Watch (ICW) argue that the payments have ballooned to excessive levels with
little oversight.
Parliamentary leaders defend the scheme, insisting that lawmakers require adequate facilities to perform their duties.
Critics counter that many MPs already own luxury homes
in the capital, effectively pocketing the allowance as extra income.
Student protests have long been a driver of political change in Indonesia — from the fall of Suharto in 1998 to more recent mobilisations against controversial laws.
The latest clashes show that the anger of the younger generation is once again turning against entrenched privilege.
🏷 Tags: Indonesia, Jakarta, Protests, Housing Benefits,
Students, Police, Inequality, Politics
#ZigDiariesPolitics #Indonesia #Jakarta #Protests
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