Talking Indonesia

This past week has seen what some have argued are the first big mobilisations of the new Prabowo government, with coordinated student protests across 12 cities under the banner of Indonesia Gelap, or “Dark Indonesia”. The students list a number of demands, from human rights to environmental issues, but the trigger for these protests lie in deep budgetary cuts initiated across the public service, to the tune of US$44 billion. The worst ministries and agencies, including the Ministry for Manpower and the Ministry for Public Works, have proposed cuts of up to 55%. The National Consumer Protection Agency is being cut a whopping 73%. Meanwhile, the police, the Ministry for Defence and the Supreme Court are seeing cuts of around 15-16%. The government is selling these cuts as efficiency dividends for a sluggish and unproductive bureaucracy, and the savings will be directly diverted to fund Prabowo’s policy promises. This includes of course, Prabowo’s signature investment in human capital, the MBG, or Free Nut