JAKARTA (Realist English). Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto cancelled a planned trip to China on Saturday as nationwide protests against lawmakers’ allowances intensified, spreading far beyond Jakarta and resulting in deadly fires at regional parliament buildings.
Prabowo had been scheduled to attend a September 3 “Victory Day” parade in China marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two. Instead, he will remain in Indonesia to oversee the crisis. “The president wants to continue monitoring the situation directly and seek the best solutions,” presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement. He added that Prabowo had apologised to Beijing for missing the event, citing the protests and preparations for the upcoming UN General Assembly as reasons for the cancellation.
The unrest began earlier this week in Jakarta after a police tactical vehicle struck and killed a motorcycle rider during a demonstration. It has since spread to several provinces. On Saturday, protesters set fire to regional parliament buildings in West Nusa Tenggara, Pekalongan in Central Java, and Cirebon in West Java. Local media reported looting in Cirebon and clashes with police using tear gas in Pekalongan and West Nusa Tenggara.
In Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi, three people died on Friday in a fire at the local parliament building. Indonesia’s disaster management agency said the victims were trapped inside as the building burned, while two others were injured after leaping from windows. Local reports suggested a fourth fatality, though this has not been independently confirmed.
Protests also flared in Bali, where police used teargas to disperse crowds. Meanwhile, demonstrators in Jakarta looted the home of lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni of the NasDem Party, seizing furniture and household goods. Sahroni has drawn criticism for dismissing calls to dissolve parliament, describing critics as “the stupidest people in the world.”
The government has accused disinformation spread online of fuelling unrest. This week, Jakarta summoned representatives of TikTok, Meta and other platforms to demand stricter content moderation. On Saturday, TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, suspended its live-streaming feature in Indonesia for several days.
The protests represent the first major test for Prabowo’s government since he took office nearly a year ago, exposing simmering public anger at lawmakers’ perks amid economic strain.