Anger at perks for politicians spilled over into wider protests after the death of a 21-year-old delivery driver in Jakarta
At least seven people have died, hundreds have been injured and public buildings have been burnt and looted after thousands of people took to the streets in anti-government protests across Indonesia over the past week.
The clashes between riot police and rock-throwing protesters that began in the capital and quickly spread beyond Jakarta have been seen as a major test for President Prabowo Subianto, a former general who has been in office for less than a year.
The protests began on 25 August, with thousands demonstrating outside parliament against a housing allowances for MPs that was nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta. Prabowo has simultaneously implemented strict austerity measures, including cuts to education, health and public works.
Demonstrators were also protesting against what they termed “corrupt elites” within the government and policies that benefit conglomerates and the military, according to a press releasee from the student group Gejayan Memanggil.
