Prevent 1998
Indonesia is living through one of its most volatile moments since the democratic transition of 1998, awkwardly, current President Prabowo has a significant role on 1998 riot. if y’all keep thinking the media just picks the weirdest parts of what Prabowo says for clickbait like they couldn’t come up with a better headline. but no, that’s actually what he said. go listen to his speech yourself man’s really out here speaking nonsense unironically. Jakarta's protests [and spiralling to other cities] have been mostly about obscene waste of taxpayer money on MPs perks and salaries. President Prabowo just gave a speech decrying the protestors' acts of vandalism as wastes of public money. His olive leaf: a temporary pause on MPs international travel perks.
Disgustingly lacking empathy and incompetent people leading the country. Prabowo was deflecting. No achievement, and things are going bad on all fronts because of his selfish & stupid projects, so he had to deflect and blame anyone but himself.
Expecting people not to blame and still ‘embrace’ 02 voters [Prabowo’s voter on Presidential Election, February 14th, 2024] is wild. They picked Prabowo, a human right criminal as president because “GEMOY”, the “OK GAS” campaign, and now the country's ruined. arrests, beatings, deaths; we endure their stupidity, y’all [02 voters] should be thankful its only blame. Could be worse.
How many protests have there been since Prabowo became President [October 20th, 2024]? How many people arrested, beaten, even killed? how many dumb policies have they passed?
By my count, massive protest movement outside Indonesia parliament building since February 25th, 2024 [last year] until today, already 106th edition. 106X TIMES, [Indonesia] citizen protested to the Indonesian Parliament for the sake of a labor welfare and justice, at least since February 25th, 2024 until today
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What began as scattered unrest has now spilled across cities, fueled by deep economic frustration, perceived elite impunity and a rising sense that the political class has grown deaf to the people’s plight. This is President Prabowo Subianto’s biggest test yet, not only of his leadership, but of his fidelity to the democratic values hard-earned through Reformasi.
To his credit, the President’s address on Sunday struck several correct notes. He pledged respect for peaceful protest, cited international human rights conventions and openly condemned excessive police force.
He also offered something rare in Indonesian politics: accountability. Under pressure, major parties have rebuked or apologized for controversial statements by lawmakers, revoked some legislative privileges and promised a moratorium on wasteful overseas junkets. But the stringing together of words, no matter how well-delivered or coordinated with political party leaders, is not enough. The President must realize that this crisis will not be defused with symbolic gestures or public relations maneuvering.
If his administration is serious about earning public trust, the reckoning must start from the top. The National Police, under Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, has faced repeated accusations of disproportionate force.
Promising internal investigations is a first step, but without immediate, transparent and public consequences, these probes risk being seen as stalling tactics. The President must consider the dismissal of top leadership as a signal of serious intent. Just as importantly, the President must avoid falling back on familiar instincts of repression.
His speech carefully walked a line between affirming civil liberties and warning against anarchy, but some phrases, such as labeling protesters as potentially committing “treason” or “terrorism”, echo dangerous historical precedents. Already, there are reports of arbitrary arrests, the banning of live TikTok streams and excessive troop mobilizations. Both the government and the people cannot afford to resurrect the ghosts of the past under the pretext of order.
The challenge now is not just to restore calm, but to understand why the calm was broken in the first place. Austerity measures, poorly communicated state programs and a disconnect between economic policy and real household pain have pushed ordinary Indonesians to the brink. For years, citizens have watched lawmakers flaunt wealth, defend inflated allowances and sidestep accountability while wages stagnated and basic services deteriorated.
Prabowo must now do more than manage a crisis. He must show he understands its roots. This means demanding not just public apologies, but real structural reform: slashing elite entitlements, overhauling communication between national and regional governments and ensuring that economic policies reflect the daily realities of the most impoverished of his fellow Indonesians.
Likewise, we call on all members of the political class, particularly those in elected office, to fulfill their duty to represent and not inflame. Constituents in regions hit hardest by unrest deserve more than silence or platitudes. They deserve their representatives to act as mediators, defenders and listeners. That means visiting affected areas, calling for calm with credibility and ensuring that local voices are heard at the national level.
The timing of this unrest could not be more telling. Just weeks ago, Indonesia celebrated the 80th anniversary of independence and listened to Prabowo’s maiden state address. It was supposed to be a moment of shared spirit, of national unity. Instead, the public now sees a deep rift between the promises of leadership and the realities on the ground.
President Prabowo still has a chance to close that gap; not with force, but with fairness. This means protecting peaceful protest, punishing violent actors without prejudice – especially if they are proven to be engineered – and putting people, not power, at the center of policymaking. Let this not be a repeat of 1998. Let this be the beginning of a leadership marked by courage, humility and responsibility to reach a mature democracy.
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If you feel powerless to help Gaza, you still has a choice: donate. When so much of what exists is false, authenticity is a powerful weapon we can wield that the state never could. So if you feel lost, hopeless, depressed, angry and afraid, I implore you to return - again and again - to the feeling of love that exists within you that brought you here in the first place. It is only through this that we can remake the world. To redress Gaza's famine, displacement, and destruction, independent and impartial humanitarian organizations - UN agencies, international and national NGOs - must be allowed to deliver relief at scale. To salvage Gaza's people from the devastation inflicted by Israel, it must be unified with the West Bank to form an independent and sovereign Palestinian State, not to be parceled and colonized by the former.
Please keep donate Gaza especially if you, as reader, has [background] International Relation [whatever universities]. IR Graduate means [you must, at least] get some semester [about] studying Middle East [in macro, not specifically Gaza].
We need more people to share fundraisers instead of only talking about Gaza. Some people think that those in Gaza don't need money but that's wrong. Almost everyone lost their source of income while essentials, food & medicine get sold for astronomical prices. So I put my attempt in all social media as I can, in twitter / X, in substack [since October 2023 I put link donation], in bluesky or bsky, in threads, in instagram.
Link to donate World Food Programme - Palestine appeal: click here
[Daniel Brühl]
Most campaign shared or circulated in social media are for REAL people in Gaza. They're legit. There are a lot of small campaigns for struggling families. This is their only lifeline. By donating & sharing, you are literally making history and alleviating part of their pain
Please do not rely on me alone for sharing your campaign. I'm only 1 person and sometimes I'm not online which is unreliable. I never ignore anybody on purpose but I have a very limited capacity & very little energy and time.
[Refaat Alareer IF I MUST DIE] Refaat Alareer was extremely hungry, November 2023, days before killed by Israel airstrike. If November 2023 already [one-by-one Gazan] extremely hungry, imagine August 2025.
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