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Reformation to Regression: Indonesia’s Democracy is Dying

  • Writer: theyouthlensprojec
    theyouthlensprojec
  • Apr 18
  • 4 min read

By: A.K.


It’s quite crazy how countries like Singapore and Japan feel as though they’re living in the year 2025, while Indonesia still seems to be stuck in 1998. The recent killing of Affan Kurniawan – a 21-year-old online delivery driver run over by an armoured police car during a civilian protest– shows just how far Indonesia’s democracy has regressed toward the darkest chapters of its past. Less than two weeks after Independence Day, the nation should be celebrating its 80th year of freedom and reflecting on its growth. Instead, the people of Indonesia are left feeling angry and afraid, questioning whether the country has made any real progress at all.

After Members of the House of Representatives were granted an atrociously high housing allowance of 50 million rupiah (around US$3,000) per month—ten times the minimum wage in Jakarta—nationwide protests erupted. Citizens were rightfully outraged: while ordinary people struggle to afford basic needs, their tax money is funneled into the lavish lifestyles of political elites rather than into crucial improvements in education, healthcare, and  infrastructure. The anger spilling into the streets reflects years of growing frustration, especially among the country’s youth, who have taken the lead in the intensifying protests. Their hope for a brighter future slips away as unemployment rates continue to climb, and those meant to represent the people enrich themselves at the nation’s expense. This is the injustice Indonesians face every day, as those in power ignore the people’s voices

Affan Kurniawan’s death has reignited the nation’s outrage. He symbolized the millions of ojol (ride-sharing) drivers who continue to keep Indonesian society moving on two wheels. Yet Affan had not even been part of the protests when he was crushed underneath a tactical vehicle of the police; he was just a young man caught in the chaos while he was working, simply trying to make a living. Indonesians pay their taxes with the expectation of safety and protection, not of funding the weapons used against them. Now they are left asking: Who do we call when the police are the ones who kill? And yet, they receive only silence in return.

The patterns are painfully familiar. It feels like 1998 again: a government turned against its own people, a case of unchecked power running rampant. Back then, during Soeharto’s authoritarian regime, student protests were answered with bullets, parts of cities were left in flames, and the people were divided. Chaos was used as a weapon; today, it is used to justify military violence and police brutality in the nation. Cardboard signs and raw voices of frustrated civilians that must face the tear gas, armoured vehicles, and now an open fire of real bullets, sent by their own representatives; all while the corrupt elites are able to comfortably watch the chaos from a distance, as they fly away in their private jets.

Protests intensify and spread like wildfire; the homes of lawmakers are looted and burned, and public transportation is destroyed. However, it seems that provocateurs are at work—inciting fear and division amongst the public, turning the people against each other so they lose sight of the real goal: justice. These acts of destruction by ‘buzzers’ cause the students and workers peacefully protesting to end up being inaccurately painted as violent, anarchic rioters, though all they want to do is fight against injustice. The provocations, many orchestrated and paid for by the elite, are an attempt to provoke the masses by using the Chinese-Indonesian minority as a scapegoat, just like how they tried to shift the narrative into a deadly issue of race back in 1998. Even information about the protests is silenced, with national broadcasts avoiding any showing of the demonstrations. Citizens are turning to Instagram, TikTok, or X for updates on what is actually happening. Unfortunately, TikTok live broadcasts are now being disabled, and posts about the demonstrations are being shut down, keeping the people silent as their outlets of communication are sabotaged and taken away. 1998. Although some have fallen for those fear-mongering tactics, the people of Indonesia have learned from their history, and they know better now.

The death of democracy means the death of so many more lives like Affan Kurniawan’s. Democracy is looking more and more like destruction. However, the core of this movement is not—and must never be—a call for anarchy. It is a call for unity. Let this serve as a desperate reminder of what the true goal of these protests is: Indonesians are fed up, frustrated, and tired of not being heard, but they must not let the anger drive them apart. During this crisis of democracy, division is how the corrupt keep their power. Every citizen, from students to ojol drivers to the ibu-ibu protesting on the streets, has the power to hold the nation together. These moments will not be erased or hidden from history, no matter how hard the unjust may try; Indonesia still holds so much potential for change. With the resilience of its citizens, especially with amplified voices of the youth, the cycle of corruption and injustice can be broken, and democracy can be revived once more.



Citations 

Estherina, Ilona. 29 August 2025, Tempo. Indonesian Govt Calls for Peaceful Protests to Maintain Economic Stability 

Blackburn, Gavin. 29 August 2025, Euronews. Tensions soar in Indonesia as protests over police brutality and lawmakers' allowances continue. https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/29/tensions-soar-in-indonesia-as-protests-over-police-brutalit y-and-lawmakers-allowances-cont 

Salim, Natasya. ABC.net. Indonesia's democracy faces 'setback' after police clash with protesters. 

Maspul, Kurniawan Arif. 27 August 2025, Geopolitical Monitor. Jakarta Protests: A New Dawn for Democracy https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/jakarta-protests-a-new-dawn-for-democracy/ 

Karmini, Niniek. Ibrahim, Achmad. 29 August 2025. Tensions soar in Indonesia's capital after police fatally struck delivery rider caught in rally 

Lim, Ferdiantono. 30 August 2025, Medium. Indonesia on Fire: Fear, Blackouts, Ghost of 1998. https://medium.com/@ferdiantonolim/indonesia-on-fire-fear-blackouts-ghost-of-1998-7204f0cf4 30e 

BBC.com. 29 August 2025. Protests erupt across Indonesia after ride-share driver killed in demonstration https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cdrk7rjv8z5t

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