The Indonesian Protests Are a Revolt Against Oligarchy
The Indonesian president, Prabowo, would like to turn the clock back to the dark days of the Suharto dictatorship. But he’s been confronted with an unexpected wave of protest after the killing of a young man by police in Jakarta, the country’s capital.
A woman strikes a police officer with a bamboo stick as police push back students during a protest outside the parliament building in Jakarta on August 28, 2025. (Bay Ismoyo / AFP via Getty Images)
Jakarta is burning. So are Makassar, Bandung, Surabaya, Mataram, and other cities throughout Indonesia. Discontent that started as outrage over the lavish perks of lawmakers evolved swiftly into a searing indictment of police brutality, elite privilege, economic precarity, wealth disparities, and democratic erosion.
The horrific death of a young man named Affan Kurniawan at the hands of the police pushed Indonesia over the edge. At the moment, it is unclear how far things will fall. But even Indonesia’s authoritarian president, Prabowo Subianto, is making concessions to the massive outburst of social anger.
Dark Indonesia
As the fourth-largest nation in the world and (at least for now) the world’s third-largest democracy, Indonesia has grappled with the legacies of authoritarianism and free-market discipline since the people power revolt that overthrew Suharto’s dictatorial New Order.
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