On 25 August until early September 2025, several protests took place in Indonesia as part of a larger civil unrest which began in early 2025 over economic frustrations and a proposed hike in housing subsidies for members of parliament. Protesters initially demanded the House of Representatives reverse its subsidy schemes and penalize its members who made insensitive statements, as well as pass the Confiscation of Assets Act for lawmakers convicted of corruption. Riots were reported in several cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan, Surakarta, Pontianak and Makassar, with further incidents occurring in other cities across Indonesia.
Student-led protesters expanded their demands to include total reform of the Indonesian National Police and resignation of the chief of police, Listyo Sigit Prabowo. The protests, which were largely concentrated around the capital Jakarta, grew in intensity and spread nationwide following the killing of Affan Kurniawan, a motorcycle taxi driver who was run over by a Brimob police tactical vehicle on 28 August during a larger violent crackdown on civil dissent. In several cities such as Makassar and Surabaya, multiple government buildings were torched. Houses associated with or belonging to members of parliament were also looted and robbed.
Background
Protests in Indonesia erupted over a proposed Rp 50 million (US$3,057) monthly housing allowance for House of Representatives (DPR) members—ten times Jakarta's minimum wage—plus existing food and transportation stipends. This ignited public fury amid soaring food and education costs, mass layoffs, and property tax increases from central funding cuts.
A BBC Indonesia report pegged
House of Representatives (DPR) members' monthly earnings at over Rp 100 million (US$6,062), including the allowance. However, the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) NGO argued the figure understated take-home pay at Rp 230 million (US$13,942.60) per month, or Rp 2.8 billion (US$169,736) annually, based on the 2023–2025 DPR Budget Implementation List (DIPA). The total budget for 580 members' salaries and allowances is projected at Rp 1.6 trillion in 2025, up from Rp 1.2 trillion in 2023 and Rp 1.8 trillion in 2024. Former Chief Justice and Minister Mahfud MD disputed claims of sub-Rp 250 million monthly pay, estimating totals could reach billions of rupiah per member.
Outrage intensified with tone-deaf comments from MPs. NasDem Party's representative Nafa Urbach backed the hike, citing commuting woes, but apologized amid backlash and pledged her allowance to constituents. Commission III deputy chairman Ahmad Sahroni branded dissolution calls "from the dumbest people in the world," later claiming it meant "smart"—his whereabouts remain unknown. National Mandate Party's Eko Patrio shared a parody video seen as mocking public hardships.
Timeline
25 August
Jakarta
On 25 August, students from Indraprasta PGRI University demonstrated in front of the MPR/DPR/DPD building. They demanded the forced dissolution of the DPR. At this location, police fired tear gas. Some of the protesters fled. However, the student protesters continued to deliver speeches, leading to the demonstration becoming chaotic. A joint security force of 1,250 personnel was deployed to secure the protest, preventing clashes with the protesters. Police even had to close Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto in front of the DPR building due to the demonstration by various elements of the protesters.
Outside Jakarta
On 25 August 2025, protests spread to Medan, North Sumatra. Thousands of students, workers, and ride-hailing drivers protested, urging the central government to scrap new tax policies. Violence erupted when police blocked access to the North Sumatra Regional House of Representatives, prompting protesters to burn tires and set up barricades, leading to clashes with dozens injured on both sides.
27 August
On 27 August, protesters under the command of the Tanjungpura University's student council stormed the West Kalimantan House of Representatives, voicing their opposition to the increase in House of Representatives member allowances. Fifteen protesters were arrested by the provincial police under the guise of resistance and damage to public property. The arrested protesters were released two days later after signing statements promising not to repeat their actions.
28 August
On 28 August, thousands of demonstrators, primarily students, political activists, and labor union members, clashed with police in Jakarta outside the House of Representatives. The protest, led by labor groups like the Coalition of Labor Unions and the Labor Party, began with six major demands, including ending outsourcing, raising minimum wages, halting mass layoffs, and reforming labor taxes. Although the labor protest initially ended peacefully, subsequent demonstration by students escalated into violence.
Students tried to scale the parliament fence and threw objects at the building, leading police to deploy tear gas and water cannons. Clashes spread from the parliament to a nearby shopping district, expressway, and railway, disrupting public transport and closing Palmerah and Tanah Abang stations. Police arrested a student near Plaza Senayan and Senayan City malls, sparking outrage among mall visitors. The student was later freed by visitors and security guards at Senayan City, which was secured with barbed wire.
Outside Jakarta
Protests with similar demands also occurred in Gorontalo, Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Mojokerto, and Medan. In Banda Aceh, labor representatives met with provincial government officials and demanded the raise of minimum wages, abolition of outsourcing, and the formation of a task force to handle unilateral layoffs.
The Lokataru Foundation estimated that at least 600 students were arrested during protests across Indonesia. According to Tempo magazine, students detained in Jakarta were forced to squat-walk five meters before receiving packaged rice. Police promised counseling and supervision for those arrested. In Bogor, police intercepted a total of 197 students who were about to depart to Jakarta for the protests. According to the police, the students were being mobilized and coordinated via a WhatsApp group that demanded them to pay ten thousand rupiahs each to buy spray paint. A letter circulated by the Jakarta Broadcasting Commission urged major media outlets to limit their coverage of the protests, which sparked criticism from several media personalities. The commission's chairman later denied issuing such letter, which was corroborated by the minister of communications and digital Meutya Hafid. Farhan Nuzhadiwansyah, a social media observer, noted the presence of a Cessna plane allegedly owned by the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure circling Jakarta. The plane was accused of being used to prevent further protests by creating heavy rain via cloud seeding. The agency's chief Suharyanto denied the allegation and stated that the national weather agency, BMKG, had predicted heavy rain beforehand.
The 28 August labor protest resulted in the government agreeing to create a task force to address mass layoffs as well as a government body named Labor Welfare Council. The protests initially died down until the news and image of the killing of a motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan, surfaced later at night.
Killing of Affan Kurniawan
On the night of 28 August, protesters who remained in the front of the parliament building withdrew to the Angkola Protestant Christian Church in the Pejompongan area after being pushed back by the Mobile Brigade, the police's paramilitary force, using tear gas and rubber bullets. In the midst of the chaos, a Rimueng 4x4 armored vehicle of the Mobile Brigade, which drove through the protesters, ran over and killed a 21-year-old Gojek-partnered motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan. Videos from various vantage points circulating on social media show the tactical armored vehicle stopping after hitting Affan, but then continued driving after being surrounded by crowds of angered civilians, who tried to beat and throw stones at the car running over Affan. Affan was immediately taken to Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), but died soon after. After the incident, the angered civilians chased the tactical vehicle through the flyover at Casablanca Street. Protesters soon encircled the Mobile Brigade's headquarters in the Central Jakarta district of Kwitang.
Besides Affan Kurniawan, it was reported that there was another person falling victim to similar circumstances named Moh Umar Amarudin, who was also an online motorcycle taxi driver partnered with Grab. Umar sustained severe injuries and was initially reported dead, but this was later corrected. As of early 29 August, he was conscious, though seriously injured, and receiving intensive care at Pelni Hospital, Palmerah, West Jakarta.
Affan's death sparked strong reactions from a community of online motorcycle taxi drivers alike as well as the wider public, both expressing condolences for his death along with harsh criticism and hate towards the Mobile Brigade and the police institution due to this accident has added more victims for cases of police brutality towards civilian. His funeral was held on 29 August at Karet Bivak Cemetery, escorted by many motorcycle taxi drivers as means to pay respect and solidarity. The funeral was attended by notable people, including former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, chief of Jakarta police Asep Edi Suheri, and entrepreneur Jusuf Hamka. Asep's presence, in particular, was met with intense anger from fellow ojol drivers, who shouted "murderer" and "enemy" as well as throwing water bottles and attempted to breach security to confront him directly as he left the cemetery. Indonesian netizens also expressed disappointment in the already-unpopular police, with the hashtag #PolisiPembunuhRakyat (roughly "#PoliceKillsPeople") became the top trending hashtag on X for the last 24 hours. His death was compared to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in China. The incident was captured on video and went viral, igniting outrage and leading to further unrest. In response, a crowd of protesters, including Affan's fellow ojek drivers, gathered at the police's Mobile Brigade headquarters, burning cars and throwing rocks.
On the same night, the Head of the Indonesian National Police's Professional and Security Division, Inspector General Abdul Karim, revealed that they have arrested seven Brimob members involved in the collision that resulted in the death of Affan Kurniawan. As one of the members of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), he called on the police to be transparent and fair in handling Affan's death and to impose strict sentence on the officers involved. Jakarta police chief Asep Edi Suhari later revealed the names of the seven involved officers: Police Second Inspector M. Rohyani, Police First Constable Danang, Police Second Constable Mardin, Police Chief Patrolman Jana Edi, Police Chief Patrolman Yohanes David, Police Commissioner Cosmas Kaju, and Police Chief Brigadier Rohmat. Two officers were sitting in the front of the vehicle while the other five were in the back. Rohmat, who was identified as the driver, claimed that he was trying to protect his colleagues within the vehicle and feared that stopping would endanger them all. He also cited poor visibility due to smoke and tinted windows despite having used the front spotlights, and an urgency to escape the crowd as he claimed the crowd was attacking with rocks and Molotov cocktails. He drove away assuming that what he was driving over were rocks as the road was "full of rocks". All were found to have violated police ethics and sentenced to a twenty-day special detention, subject to extension for further investigation.
29 August
Protests continued with demonstrators, mostly from students and motorcycle taxi drivers, demanding accountability for Affan's death. New demonstrations were planned in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities. The All-Indonesia Students' Union called for protests against police brutality, while the Jakarta provincial government pledged to assist with Affan's funeral.
In Tangerang, local police conducted patrols in train stations and toll gates to prevent students from the region joining the protests.
Hundreds of Universitas Indonesia students, as well as those from other universities in the Jakarta region, staged a demonstration outside the national police headquarters, demanding the removal of the police chief. Prior to their departure, the rector of the university briefed the students, stating that the university "never approved protests, but respected democracy".
The All-Indonesia Students' Executive Board also organized a march from FX Sudirman to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters, protesting the repressive actions of the authorities. Riot police again used tear gas to disperse crowds, which had gathered at the Mobile Brigade headquarters. The protests led to the closure of major roads, and many companies instructed their employees to work from home.