#Indonesia Gelap Takes to the Streets, But Why?
Thousands of students and political activists have mobilized across major cities in Indonesia to voice their frustrations against President Prabowo Subianto’s latest budget cuts, policies that many fear will deepen inequality. #IndonesiaGelap represents more than just a trending topic—it’s a reflection of the people’s discontent in the face of rising socio-economic uncertainty and government apathy.
Feb 28, 2025
As a manifestation of the people’s frustrations, the #IndonesiaGelap demonstrations took place from Monday (17/2) to Friday (21/2) across several major cities in Indonesia. Mainly near Patung Kuda and Istana Negara in Central Jakarta, thousands of students and political activists took to the streets across the country to oppose President Prabowo Subianto’s latest policies on national budget efficiency, most notably the implementation of spending cuts on education and healthcare programs. These budget reallocations were decided on the premise of reprioritizing national policies to facilitate what was campaigned by Prabowo last year in November, namely to focus on providing free meals to schools nationwide. As the hashtag #IndonesiaGelap went viral on multiple platforms, with over 3 million posts as of Tuesday (25/2) on platform X, what does this movement represent? Who are the ones voicing their concerns?
From the crowds of people who attended the demonstrations, at the forefront were mostly university students and political activists. With participants of varied backgrounds and interests, #IndonesiaGelap greatly illustrates people’s concerns and their demand for a direct response to their collective frustration with the issues at hand as it extends beyond individual interests and preferences. The demands made during the demonstrations among others have included revising the Presidential Executive Order No. 1 2025 to focus efficiency on the national (APBN) and regional (APBD) budgeting plans, reevaluating the “Free Meal Program,” increasing the quality of national education and healthcare programs, and transparency over the use of the people’s taxes. These demands highlight the need for transparency, most considerably, as many of the Prabowo Administration’s policies have even been critiqued for their efficiency despite being intended to improve said efficiency.
With vocal criticisms of Prabowo’s policies being largely agreed upon to the extent of #IndonesiaGelap’s virality, these demonstrations have also come at a time of great socio-economic uncertainty in this country. As income inequalities continue to widen between the poor and the wealthy, many different economic issues have arisen, including serious cases of nepotism and wasteful government spending, impacting most considerably young Indonesians who are just entering the job market. Public trust in the government has declined significantly over the years, as policy changes and spending cuts have been imposed without a clear explanation of their purpose and goal. This tension ultimately reached a boiling point when the Prabowo administration took office in October of last year, ushering in a new age in Indonesian politics. While new political eras often herald optimism and excitement for what’s to come, many of Prabowo’s policies concerning the country’s revitalization have already left a sour taste in the mouths of Indonesian people, despite it just beginning. With other similar-in-sentiment hashtags going viral in social media, such as #KaburAjaDulu, where Indonesian netizens express their growing disappointment with the present socio-political climate of the country to even desire to leave Indonesia entirely, there is a great sense of dissatisfaction by the people towards the way things currently are that has become more and more palpable with each passing day.
While tension and frustrations continue to brew, it seems as though the Prabowo Administration has modeled itself in apathy in response. President Prabowo Subianto indirectly responded to the movement during an event for the Democratic Party of Indonesia on Tuesday (25/2) by saying, “Saudara-saudara yang muda-muda, yang melihat Indonesia gelap itu siapa?” “[…] Kok Indonesia gelap?” steadfast and confident in his policies while being dismissive of the concerns highlighted by the demonstrations and protests that took place. Addressing the subject in nonchalance as if the protests a couple of days ago didn’t happen, this kind of indifference is what many believe caused the protests to begin with, and it’s pretty clear why that’s the case. Despite the year just beginning, the Prabowo administration has already taken significant measures that have been met with criticism from the public. Not all of them have been home runs, and this should be acknowledged with humility and respect as appropriate for a head of state. Instead, we received indifference and apathy, and the general population's reaction should not surprise anyone, especially the authorities governing this country. Regardless of what is to come, however, the one certain thing is that this tension will not be water under the bridge anytime soon.
Sources:
BBC
https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/articles/cy080qvxp12o
CNN
Kompas
Liputan 6
MetroTV
https://www.metrotvnews.com/play/b3JCpEdd-puncak-demo-indonesia-gelap-ini-tuntutan-bem-si
Tempo
