Laborers and university students are staging protests throughout the country today, demanding the government reverse its subsidized fuel price hike.
The Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI), the largest labor group in the country, says up to 5,000 workers will voice their demands outside the House of Parliament (DPR) complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta starting at 10am today.
KSPI added that similar protests will be held outside gubernatorial offices throughout the country.
The National Association of Student Executive Bodies (BEM-SI), meanwhile, has announced nationwide protests, including in Jakarta, rejecting the fuel price hike from today until Sept. 10.
“Seeing how the government’s policies are becoming increasingly removed from the people’s needs, we are once again going to fill up the streets and intersections,” the alliance of students declared in an Instagram post.
The Jakarta Metro Police said 3,000 police personnel have been deployed to DPR as a security measure. Police may manage traffic flow around the area should the situation call for it.
Yesterday, police arrested four people for alleged provocative behavior during a protest against fuel prices in Central Jakarta staged by other student groups.
Related — Perta-hike! President Joko Widodo raises fuel prices
President Joko Widodo on Saturday said the government opted to cut fuel subsidies as a last resort, as growing demand had siphoned an increasing amount of funds from the state budget. For 2022, the Indonesian government has so far tripled its energy subsidy budget to IDR502 trillion (US$33.7 billion), up from the IDR170 trillion (US$11.4 billion) it allocated at the start of the year.
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