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Youth Activists are at the Forefront of Protests that Divide Indonesia
Written and Researched By: Nandana Jeevan
Published By: Meredith Yuen
Published: 6th October 2025
abc.net.au, Ten people died and more than 3,000 people were arrested during recent protests in Indonesia (Uploaded 7th September 2025), (Reuters: Willy Kurniawan), Retrieved 28th September 2025
As the unmistakable One Piece flag waves in the streets, a new generation of activists are rising, challenging Indonesia’s current political state.
Amidst the escalating living costs and pervasive government corruption, protests have recently erupted in Indonesia, uniting citizens who are determined to voice their concerns. The public’s frustrations are intensified by the evident discrepancy in living conditions, with housing allowances for Members of Parliament being almost 10 times the annual minimum wage in Jakarta (Livingstone, 2025). Protestors directly challenge president Prabowo Subianto, who many view as a part of the cronyistic elite that has failed to address citizens' pressing concerns. The unfolding protests serve as a reminder of Indonesia’s transition from an oligarchy to a democracy, which is a path that has proven to be anything but smooth (Panimbang, 2020). As the streets continue to echo with voices fighting for change, it has become evident that calling for justice and accountability is becoming more critical than ever.
History of Indonesia’s political system
In order to understand the economic climate in Indonesia, it is imperative to consider the country’s political history. A notable figure to acknowledge is Indonesian politician Suharto[1] (1921 - 2008) who served as the second president of the country and formed the New Order regime[2]. His rule was marked with various human rights violations and he was particularly known for his suppression of the opposition and the widespread corruption throughout his regime. Suharto acted as Indonesia’s longest serving leader until his resignation from office in 1998, due to a loss of support from both the public and the military (Legge, 2025). Immediately following his rule, Indonesia experienced economic recovery, challenging the theory that only authoritarian regimes can lead to economic progress. Currently, Indonesia operates as a presidential republic, under the rule of President Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo initially earned the public’s respect by proposing various schemes that addressed the social injustices citizens faced (Lamb, 2025). However, public backlash against health, education and public service budget cuts has contributed to the overall negative perception of his administration. Many now challenge Prabowo’s legitimacy and question his ability to govern Indonesia effectively.
Critics draw parallels between President Prawobo’s administration and Suharto’s authoritarian regime, particularly when it comes to its handling of disputes and heavy reliance on military authority. In a response to these concerns, citizens take to the street to demand accountability, seeking to avoid a repeat of past injustices.
Significant events
A critical moment marking the severity of these protests was the death of 21 year old delivery driver Affan Kurniawan on the night of August 28th. Kurniawan was killed after being run over by a police vehicle, having mistakenly taken a route that led him through a public demonstration. Videos capturing his death spread rapidly on social media, igniting an outpour of fury and uniting the public in grief and anger. Both Subianto and the police chief issued public apologies, with Kurniawan’s family receiving financial compensation and the officers responsible for his death held accountable.
Following this, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s home was looted, alongside the residences of four other prominent lawmakers. The South Tangerang Sub-regional Police were quick to respond, arresting several suspects and placing them under detention. ( | INP | Indonesian National Police, 2025). In her response to the public, Sri Mulyani stated “This is Indonesia’s civilized democratic system. It is not yet perfect. Our job is to improve the quality of this democracy in a civilized manner, not with anarchy, intimidation, and repression,”
Government buildings were not exempt from damage either, as the City Regional House of Representatives building in Makassar was set on fire, resulting in the deaths of three people. Protestors also set multiple regional parliament buildings in West Nusa Tenggara, Pekalongan City, and Cirebon City ablaze, causing irreversible damage (Skopeliti, 2025). Various transportational facilities and private vehicles across Jakarta were vandalized or set ablaze, resulting in losses of up to 55bn rupiah ($USD 3.3 million).
rnz.co.nz , The building of Makassar City Regional House of Representatives is set on fire during a protest in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on 29 August 29, (Uploaded 30th August 2025), Daeng Mansur, Retrieved 28th September 2025
The key role of the youth
With the youth taking on a more prominent role in activism, one powerful symbol has risen as an assembling point for change. The Jolly Roger flag featuring a cartoon skull with a straw hat, from the popular Japanese anime One Piece, has emerged as a silent protest against the government’s increasing military involvement. This recognizable emblem has gained notable visibility, displayed on doorways and walls across Indonesia and raised high at protests as a symbol of unity. The flag was initially introduced as a response to a speech given by President Prabowo where he proclaimed “Raise the red and white flag[3] wherever you are. Red represents the blood shed for our independence, white represents the purity of our souls,". Instead, Indonesian citizens retaliated by raising the Jolly Roger flag, as a symbol of their growing discontent towards the government, with many criticising the escalating corruption. (Firdaus & Asra, 2025).
But what makes the Jolly Roger flag an appropriate representation of their struggle? In the popular anime One Piece, the narrative surrounds a band of straw hat pirates and their leader, with their flag consistently being raised as a symbol of freedom from control (Ratcliffe & Oda, 2025). Indonesian citizens draw a parallel to their own struggles and wield this flag as an influential symbol of liberation. Many government officials have criticised these efforts, with some lawmakers considering it to be a symbol of treason. Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a close ally of Prabowo, described this as “a coordinated attempt to divide the nation[4]” (Firdaus & Asra, 2025). The overall response, however, has remained relatively mixed, with other politicians accepting these acts as a form of creative public expression.
Japan Times, Protesters wave a pirate flag from the Japanese anime "One Piece," an internet trend used to criticize government policies, during a demonstration in front of the Bali police station in Denpasar, Indonesia, on Saturday, (Uploaded 2nd September 2025), Karishma Vaswani, Retrieved 28th September 2025
Response to protests
The Indonesian government’s response to protests was initially forceful, with a handful of crackdowns on protestors. Indonesian police were officially instructed to respond to protests using rubber bullets, water canons and tear gases, and an estimate of 3900 citizens were arrested. In response, Prabowo dismissively remarked “polisi kadang khilaf” (the police sometimes make mistakes), and controversially announced that he would promote 40 police officials who were injured during the violence (Livingstone, 2025). Media freedom was also restricted with the Regional Indonesian Broadcasting Commission urging some outlets to limit coverage on the protests. There was also a temporary suspension of live streaming from Indonesia on TikTok, after representatives of the platform were told to boost content moderation ("Prabowo Scraps China Trip," 2025)
However, the Indonesian government has also attempted to appease protesters, with Prabowo announcing that all lawmakers' perks (including both housing allowances and overseas trips) will be cut. Prabowo also announced that the police were investigating the officials involved in Kurniawan’s death, ‘and that he had instructed a quick and transparent investigation in a way that the public can monitor.’ (Livingstone, 2025). Several other regional governors have also voiced their concerns over the controversial laws and have presented the option for applying for a judicial review in the constitutional court.
Despite this, protestors are still unsatisfied with the government's response. Student protestor Muzammil Ihsan emphasized that there are changes yet to be made, stating that protestors “must continue to move” and “continue to speak out to convey our aspirations.”. Protestors believe that the initial demands were too narrow, focused solely on Kurniawan’s death. They believe the demands should be expanded to include broader issues such as ‘revisions to the law authorizing the military or authorizing the police and reform of the legislature to make it more democratic’ (Yang, 2025)
References
Protests test Indonesia's democracy. (2025, September 2). The Economist. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/09/02/protests-test-indonesias-democracy
Livingstone, H. (2025, September 1). Indonesia protests explained: why did they start and how has the government responded? The Guardian. Retrieved September 18, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/02/indonesia-protests-explained-start-how-has-the-government-responded
Hanna, W. A. (n.d.). Indonesia after Suharto. Britannica. Retrieved September 21, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Indonesia/Indonesia-after-Suharto
Ratcliffe, R., & Oda, E. (2025, September 24). 'A symbol of liberation': how the One Piece manga flag became the symbol of Asia's gen Z protest movement. The Guardian. Retrieved September 25, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/24/how-one-piece-manga-flag-became-symbol-asia-gen-z-protest-movement-liberation
Mietzner, M. (2014, 2 12). Political evolution : Indonesia’s strong base for democratic development. Cetri. https://www.cetri.be/Political-evolution-Indonesia-s?lang=fr
Panimbang, F. (2020, 10 21). Indonesia’s return to an authoritarian developmental state. IPS. https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy/indonesias-return-to-an-authoritarian-developmental-state-4734/
Lamb, K. (2025, January 27). Indonesian president Prabowo's first 100 days marked by u-turns, missteps … and sky-high popularity. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/28/indonesian-president-prabowo-subianto-approval-ratings
Firdaus, A., & Asra, M. I. (2025, August 6). One Piece: How a cartoon skull became a symbol of defiance in Indonesia. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ezvj4d111o
Police Arrest Looters at Finance Minister Sri Mulyani's Residence Amid Unrest | INP | Indonesian National Police. (2025, September 4). INP Polri. Retrieved September 29, 2025, from https://inp.polri.go.id/artikel/police-arrest-looters-at-finance-minister-sri-mulyanis-residence-amid-unrest
Skopeliti, C. (2025, August 30). Fire kills three people in Indonesia after protesters torch council buildings. The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/30/fire-kills-three-people-in-indonesia-after-protesters-storm-council-buildings-in-the-wake-of-taxi-drivers-death
Indonesia's Prabowo scraps China trip over protests, TikTok halts live feed. (2025, August 31). Al Jazeera. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/indonesia-s-prabowo-scraps-china-trip-tiktok-halts-live-feed-amid-protests/ar-AA1LyY7d?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Yang, J. (2025, September 7). Violence sweeps across Indonesia amid protests over worsening economy. PBS. Retrieved October 1, 2025, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/violence-sweeps-across-indonesia-amid-protests-over-worsening-economy
Glossary/Notes
Discrepancy: An unexpected difference between two sets of conditions
Housing allowance: Valuable benefits paid by employers as a part of a salary to help individuals cover their housing costs
Cronyistic/Cronyism: The act of awarding positions of authority or privileges to friends or colleagues, without proper regard for their qualifications
Oligarchy: A form of government in which power is held by a few individuals
Authoritarian regime: A regime characterized by highly concentrated and centralized government power
Presidential republic: A type of representative democracy where an elected president serves as both the head of state and head of government, independent from the legislature
Judicial review: A legal procedure where a court examines the lawfulness of a decision, in order to hold public bodies (e.g the government) accountable for their actions
[1]: It is common for Indonesians to be referred to by a given and not have a family name
[2]: The New order was a regime designed around economic rehabilitation of Indonesia and the reversal of former president Sukarno’s policies
[3]: The Red and white flag refers to the official flag of Indonesia
[4]: The only law surrounding fictional flags in Indonesia is one requiring that the official red and white flag must be hoisted higher if flown alongside a fictional flag
