August 26, 2025
JAKARTA – Hundreds of people marched in the streets around the House of Representatives complex in Central Jakarta on Monday in protest at lawmakers’ excessive salaries and rampant corruption in the country.
Protesters, many of whom were dressed in dark clothing, clashed with police officers in front of the legislative complex as they tried to break through a barricade. Police fired tear gas and water cannon to push the crowd back.
The protest grew more rowdy later in the afternoon as the crowd continued hurling rocks and fireworks despite the authorities’ attempts to clear the area. Many also waved the flag of the Japanese anime One Piece, which has recently been turned into a popular symbol of protest against injustices in the country.
There was no official record of casualties or arrests from the authorities. Jakarta Police spokesperson Ade Ary Syam Indradi said 1,250 police personnel were deployed on Monday to maintain security around the complex, Reuters reported.
Many of the protesters appeared to be students and ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers in their ride-hailing company work uniforms.
The demonstration was initiated by several organizations, including the student executive body (BEM) of the University of Indraprasta PGRI (Unindra) and the Indonesian Muslim Students Union (SEMMI).
SEMMI protested against the excessive pay for lawmakers, in response to reports that they earned more than 100 million (US$6,158) per month, including an additional housing allowance that was introduced late last year.
The paycheck is worth nearly 20 times Jakarta’s minimum wage and caused public outcry in the past week amid sluggish economic growth.
Read also: Generous housing perks for lawmakers clash with public hardship
House Speaker Puan Maharani has dismissed any salary hike but noted that the housing allowance had been added to their pay.
Protesters from a student group calling themselves Perkumpulan Mahasiswa Indonesia and another group called the Indonesian Millennials demanded the dissolution of the House altogether, a popular sentiment on social media over the week.
Other groups also called for the long-discussed asset forfeiture bill to be passed into law in order to help scale up the fight against corruption.
In response to Monday’s protest, Puan promised that legislators would take the protesters’ demands into account.
“We will continue to accommodate all aspirations of the public, and we ask for their opinions to help improve the legislators’ performance so that we can build the nation hand-in-hand,” Puan said on Monday, as quoted from Kompas TV.
Read also: Puan denies salary hike for lawmakers
More protests are expected to take place this week, including demonstrations planned by labor unions for Thursday in front of the legislative complex in Jakarta and in other major cities across the country.
“Thousands of workers will take to the streets on Thursday across the country’s 38 provinces,” Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) chairman Said Iqbal, who also chairs the Labor Party, told Tempo on Monday.