Thousands protest against budget cuts in Indonesia

JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesians rallied nationwide on Friday to protest budget cuts by President Prabowo Subianto´s government aimed at funding a free-meal programme and other big-ticket campaign pledges.

Austerity measures announced by Prabowo in late January sparked thousands of student protesters to rally across Indonesian cities earlier this week, underpinned by a social media movement known as “Dark Indonesia”.

The president had ordered the budget cuts in an effort to save 306.7 trillion rupiah ($18.8 billion) on office spending, ceremonies and business trips, leaving some civil servants to work under little light and other strict energy-saving conditions in the office.

Former general Prabowo, who took office in October, has said he wants to raise around $46 billion from spending cuts and by taking from the dividends of state-owned enterprises. Analysts have said the cuts were likely to shift funds to programmes like the $4.3 billion free-meal plan for schoolkids to combat stunted growth, and a new sovereign wealth fund.

Calls to join anti-austerity protests spread widely on social media this week, accompanied by suggestions to skip work on Friday, with netizens adding #IndonesiaGelap or #DarkIndonesia hashtags to their posts. Protesters rallied under the “Dark Indonesia” banner Friday in several cities, including capital Jakarta and Indonesia´s second-largest city Surabaya.