Indonesian president says lawmakers’ perks to be cut after deadly protests

Prabowo Subianto says some parliament policies to be revoked as he also promises stern action against rioters and looters.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says political parties have agreed to revoke a number of perks and privileges for parliamentarians in a major concession to people taking part in antigovernment protests that have killed at least five people.

Protests over what the demonstrators have criticised as excessive pay and housing allowances for parliamentarians started on Monday and expanded into riots on Thursday after one person, a motorcycle rideshare driver, was killed in a police action at a protest site.

Rioters ransacked or set ablaze the homes of some members of the political parties as well as some state installations as protests rocked major cities in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

“Leaders in parliament have conveyed that they will revoke a number of parliament policies, including the size of allowances for members of parliament and a moratorium on overseas work trips,” Prabowo said at a news conference at the Presidential Palace while flanked by the leaders of various political parties.

The president said protests should take place peacefully and if people destroyed public facilities or looted private homes, “the state must step in to protect its citizens.” He said he had ordered the military and police to take stern action against rioters and looters.

“The rights to peaceful assembly should be respected and protected. But we cannot deny that there are signs of actions outside the law, even against the law, even leaning towards treason and terrorism,” he said.

The president pledged an investigation into the killing of motorcycle gig driver Affan Kurniawan and promised to help his family. Seven officers in the armoured van were detained for investigation.

The grievances of protesters are many, but rallies this week focused on the revelation that lawmakers were receiving a housing allowance nearly 10 times higher than the minimum wage in Jakarta.

Protests spread to other cities, including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya in Java and Medan in North Sumatra.

At least three people were killed after protesters started a fire at a council building on Saturday in the eastern city of Makassar.

Widespread protests

The protests are the biggest and most violent of Prabowo’s presidency and a key test for the former general less than a year into his five-year term.