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Angry mobs ransack, loot Indonesian officials’ homes as unrest escalates

Protests over lawmakers' exorbitant housing allowance have escalated into angry crowds breaking into the homes of at least four officials, including the finance minister.

Dio Suhenda

Dio Suhenda

The Jakarta Post

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Demonstrators clash during a protest against police in front of the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police headquarters in Jakarta on August 29, 2025, following the death of a motorcycle taxi driver who was run over by an armoured Brimob (Mobile Brigade Corps) vehicle the night before. PHOTO: AFP

September 1, 2025

JAKARTA – Social media platforms have been flooded with videos of angry mobs storming, ransacking and apparently looting upscale residences as the ongoing wave of protests spill over from the streets of Jakarta into the homes of several lawmakers and the finance minister, who have become the focus of public ire.

The unrest began in Jakarta earlier last week over lawmakers’ lavish housing allowance, but escalated into a broader outcry against police brutality in the capital as well as other cities after the death of Affan Kurniawan, 21, an on-demand motorcycle driver who was killed by a tactical police vehicle during a violent protest on Thursday night.

It is unknown if Affan was taking part in the protest or just happened to be in the area.

On Saturday, a group of people turned their anger toward House of Representatives lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni from the pro-government NasDem Party, who had drawn criticism earlier for describing netizens urging the dissolution of the House as “the dumbest people in the world”.

Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of people breaking into his home in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on Saturday afternoon, looting furniture, electronics and luxury items, including a designer watch and a life-size action figure.

Media reports say that Sahroni does not appear in the footage, while unverified speculation on social media allege he had gone abroad a day earlier.

Later on Saturday, some users began sharing the home addresses of lawmakers Surya “Uya Kuya” Utama, Eko “Patrio” Hendro Purnomo and Nafa Urbach, all of whom had similarly courted public controversy in recent days.

Uya and Eko of the pro-government National Mandate Party (PAN), both former television personalities, drew public outrage after videos surfaced showing them dancing during the annual plenary session of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Aug. 15. Netizens pointed to their action as proof of just out of touch their representatives had become as people struggled amid mounting economic pressure.

Nafa, a former musician who is now a NasDem politician, had publicly defended the House members’ monthly housing allowance of Rp 50 million (US$3,000) each, the main trigger of the protests that began last week.

All three lawmakers apologized in video messages posted on Saturday night, but these did not quell the rising anger directed against them.

That very evening, crowds of people forced their way into Uya’s home in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, as well as Eko’s home in Kuningan, South Jakarta, according to publicly available footage.

Some people were seen fleeing with a sofa and electronic goods from Eko’s house, Antara reported.

Head of the East Jakarta Police’s detectives unit, Adj. Sr. Comr. Dicky Fertoffan, told Antara on Sunday that they had “so far arrested nine individuals” in connection with the break-in and looting at Uya’s house.

n the early hours on Sunday morning, looters allegedly broke into Nafa’s house in the upscale neighborhood of Bintaro in South Tangerang, Banten, according to Tribunnews.com.

Around the same time, a group of people reportedly stormed Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s Bintaro residence, and videos of the incident show unidentified individuals carrying furniture and paintings out of the residence.

Sri Mulyani “was not at home” at the time of the incident, a neighbor told Antara.

The minister faced backlash for her recent remarks questioning whether the state budget should be the sole funding source for teachers’ salaries, while viral videos showed her referring to teachers as a national burden.

She has denied making the latter remarks, saying the videos were deepfakes.

As of Sunday morning, none of the four targeted officials had issued a public statement regarding the alleged looting.

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