Photo: ChatGPT 4o Image Generation
What is happening?
The killing of 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan, struck by a police vehicle during protests, ignited a national outcry across Indonesia. Affan was not a militant activist but a gig worker caught in the chaos, and his death became a rallying point. The proximate target is parliament’s decision to grant itself lavish housing allowances even as austerity erodes public services. However, the underlying grievance is deeper: a sense that ordinary Indonesians are paying a high price for the impunity of the political elite.
The escalation of tensions has led to at least ten fatalities and over 700 injuries. While more than 3,000 people have been arbitrarily detained, according to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, at least 20 activists remain missing. In Jakarta and across the archipelago, thousands of Indonesians, including students, civil society groups, and delivery riders, continue to rally under the colors of Brave Pink and Hero Green. Pink hijabs and placards evoke courage through compassion; green jackets, ubiquitous among ride-hailing drivers, symbolize resilience and hope. Indonesian authorities promised inquiries and trimmed some perks for bureaucrats, but detentions, arson, and clashes followed as protests spread to major cities.
In a young democracy that has only transitioned from Suharto’s dictatorial, authoritarian, and kleptocratic regime, known as the Orde Baru (New Order), less than three decades ago, democratic backsliding under President Prabowo Subianto is reopening freshly healed wounds.
What is the broader picture?
Indonesia is experiencing growth without equity. Official data trumpets quarterly GDP growth of over 5 percent, yet inflation, job insecurity, and stagnant wages weigh heavily on workers. The working class — including drivers, factory laborers, and teachers — feels squeezed, while the middle class is shrinking under the skyrocketing cost of living and shrinking opportunities for personal and professional growth. Symbolically, parliament’s 50 million IDR housing allowances (around 3,000 EUR monthly) dwarf the Rp 5 million average wage, which crystallizes perceptions of elite self-enrichment. These disparities, coupled with cuts to health and education budgets, have eroded public trust in Prabowo and his government.
Global pressures add fuel to the domestic concerns; Trump-era tariffs and China’s industrial overcapacity have dampened Indonesian exports and flooded markets with cheaper goods. Meanwhile, the Prabowo administration’s data opacity, insisting on strong growth while avoiding transparency in releasing unemployment data, deepens public cynicism. For many, Affan’s death became proof that the state not only ignores economic hardship but also deploys brute force when challenged. The protests thus merge material grievances with institutional mistrust. They are a continuation of this year’s #IndonesiaGelap (Dark Indonesia) mobilizations, during which young Indonesians denounced austerity and creeping militarization.
The state’s response has sharpened concerns about democratic backsliding. Crackdowns with water cannons, curfews, and mass arrests echo the Orde Baru-era authoritarian playbook. Prabowo’s warning that protests border on “treason” signals a narrowing of civic space. Protesters thus continue to counter with creative, highly visual forms of dissent: anime flags, pink-green palettes, and viral TikTok clips. This “visual rebellion” reclaims narrative power from the state, bridging street anger with cultural resonance.
Notably, cross-border solidarity has amplified this momentum. The so-called “SEAblings” (South East Asian siblings) phenomenon has seen citizens from Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines send food orders to Indonesian delivery drivers and post messages of encouragement online. These gestures, modest yet conspicuous, underscore how Indonesia’s turmoil resonates throughout the region. Much like the Milk Tea Alliance, SEAblings remind Prabowo that his domestic legitimacy is being scrutinized not just at home but across Southeast Asia’s digitally networked publics.
Why is it important?
Indonesia’s unrest illustrates how symbols can crystallize systemic grievances. Brave Pink and Hero Green give visual form to a movement driven by economic inequality, elite impunity, and shrinking civic freedoms. The paradox is generational: the same youth who embraced Prabowo’s TikTok populism in 2024 now lead the protests against him. For other democracies (including those in Europe), the lesson is that a democratic regime’s stability rests not on headline growth but on whether its democracy can absorb dissent without sliding into repression. The coming weeks will reveal whether Prabowo treats the colors of protest as a warning light — or tries to blot them out with force.