September 4, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR – WHEN it comes to protests, Indonesia and Malaysia, both nations with predominantly Muslim populations, have striking contrasts.
Both countries have seen large-scale public mobilisations in the past two decades, but the tone, tactics and outcomes of these movements differ significantly.
Many Malaysians have been following closely the protests in Jakarta and other cities which have turned ugly. It has degenerated into anarchy and deadly, with at least three deaths as I write this.
The buildings of the Dewan Perwakilan Indonesia (DPI) and those at regional levels are under siege while a police building in Jakarta has been set on fire.
The home of a House of Representative member, who had made an insensitive and arrogant remark, was ransacked by an angry mob. His luxury cars were damaged while looters took away his expensive watches and bags.
Police officers have been assaulted and their vehicles attacked in riots sparked after a 21-year-old ride share driver was run over by an armoured police vehicle.
The street anger is directed at two institutions- the DPI members and police. Both are accused of being corrupt and incompetent.
For Indonesians, the last straw was when the DPI gave themselves a hefty housing allowance and other perks, and it was an amount which the ordinary struggling Indonesian cannot imagine.
The representatives approved for themselves a steep increase of 50 million rupiah (RM12,900) per month in housing allowance – nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta.
That was not all. Other perks which angered the people included rice allowance reportedly at 12 million rupiah (RM3,000) a month for these politicians. Later though, lawmakers insisted it was only 200,000 rupiahs (RM52) a month.
Worse, DPI members were also filmed dancing away happily inside the august chamber following President Prabowo Subianto’s annual state address which was followed by light hearted musical performance by university students.
The timing was very bad. The frustrated public took the spontaneous dancing by many lawmakers as a celebration of the perks they received.
The dancing was regarded as “blatant privilege by tone deaf politicians” in the midst of national woes such as rising taxes, increased unemployment and soaring living costs.
The wanton display of wealth and lifestyle of these political elites also showed their detachment from social reality.
According to a report, quoting a private source analysis, the average monthly salary in Indonesia stood at 3,094,818 (about RM800) while others suggested that the median monthly wage, across the nation, was at just 1.425 million rupiah (RM366).
Indonesian protests are usually led by labour and student leaders and they often take their grievances to the streets in huge numbers. The difference this time is that it is unusually explosive with no end in sight.
Protests there tend to be more confrontational — often descending into violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
The big difference from Malaysia is that our protests — even massive rallies like the one by Bersih for electoral reform —are typically peaceful, disciplined, and middle-class-driven.
The question is: Why?
One possible answer may lie in the economic and socio-political makeup of these nations — particularly the role of the middle class.
Indonesia has a long and storied tradition of mass mobilisation as a vehicle for political change.
From the anti-colonial era to the Reformasi movement that brought down Suharto in 1998, protests have often carried the weight of national transformation.
This legacy has made street politics a normalised — even romanticised — expression of democracy, while in Malaysia, until recent years under the Anwar Administration, protests were regarded as a potential spark for riots.
In Malaysia, the groups which organise demonstrations are shaped by a more consolidated and economically secure middle class.
In urban centres like Kuala Lumpur, protests tend to be led by professional-class Malaysians who operate within a more institutional political culture. Movements like Bersih were notable not just for their size, but for their orderliness. These were protests for reform, not revolution.
Working Malaysians cannot afford to spend too long in the streets, which means protests are short and usually take place during weekends.
This is unlike Indonesia where protests last longer as many labour segments still tend to be more informally structured.
The Malaysian middle class prefers to use its economic position to push for change within the system — through the courts, civil society, and, certainly at the ballot box. The legal and electoral systems remain legitimate.
We still have faith and respect in our institutions especially the judiciary and the police, unlike in Indonesia, where they are seen as high handed and insensitive to the marginalised.
Our protests tend to be carefully planned, image-conscious, and restrained. Violence would immediately de-legitimise the very political leverage the middle class seeks to wield.
Even during the recent “Turun Anwar” protests, the main organiser, PAS, used its “marshals” to ensure the participants followed the rules.
To the credit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whose reformasi movement also took to the streets, he ensured the police did not shut down streets or the MRT stations although the “Turun Anwar” protests targeted him.
In the past, there would have been heavy police presence with water cannons used to disperse the protesters while ring leaders would be arrested on the eve of the demonstrations.
Laws such as the Sedition Act and Sosma, while controversial, still exist, but the draconian Internal Security Act is gone. The ISA, for one, made the cost of violent dissent extremely high.
The delicate balance of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society is another factor. It has instilled a broader cultural aversion to political disorder, which many fear could ignite deeper tensions.
The New Economic Policy has been questioned for its implementation but it has also rightly created a huge Malay middle class base.
Businesses and housing estates have become more multi-racial by ensuring bumiputra participation and ownership, and that takes away racial identity.
No one in Malaysia, especially the majority middle class, wants to rock the boat. For all the grumbling and whining, life in Malaysia is much better and comfortable than many countries.
While Indonesia and Malaysia may appear similar on the surface, the protest cultures reflect deep differences in class dynamics, historical trajectories, and state-society relations.
Our trust in institutions, the capacity of the state to manage dissent, and the memory of what protest has meant in a nation’s past, including the May 13 racial riots of 1969, remain deep in our psyche.
As one analyst put it, in Indonesia, a protest is a battle cry but In Malaysia, it’s a carefully negotiated message.
He said how people protest tells us a great deal about the health of their institutions, the fears they carry, and the futures they envision.
On National Day, as I wrote this, like many Malaysians, I feel grateful and thankful that I was born here. This is my home.
Let no one, even for a moment, think that we should emulate the ways of the Indonesian protestors. This is not how we manage a crisis in Malaysia.
Let the Indonesian riots be a lesson to all governments.
Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 35 years in various capacities and roles. He is now group editorial and corporate affairs adviser to the group, after having served as group managing director/chief executive officer.