Six people have now died in nationwide protests, forcing Prabowo Subianto to remove perks include a housing allowance worth 10 times the minimum wage
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to revoke lawmakers’ perks and privileges, including a controversial $3,000 housing allowance, in a bid to ease public fury after nationwide protests in which six people have died.
Flanked by leaders of eight Indonesian political parties, Prabowo told a televised news conference in the capital, Jakarta, that they had agreed to cut the housing allowance and suspend overseas trips for members of parliament. It was a rare concession in response to mounting public anger.
By Monday, “lawmakers will see certain allowances scrapped and overseas work trips suspended under a new moratorium,” Prabowo said.
After nationwide protests escalated across the world’s third-largest democracy last week, Prabowo during the weekend summoned the country’s prominent figures and cancelled a high-profile trip to China. He met 16 religious figures and eight political leaders, including former president Megawati Sukarnopurti, the chair of the country’s only formal opposition party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
