By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
MEDAN/JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Christians in Indonesia urged prayers Saturday after at least four people died in violent protests sparked by outrage over privileges given to the country’s political elite and massive taxes, budget cuts, and the growing influence of the army.
In the latest known incident, an angry mob set fire to a local parliament building in an Indonesian provincial capital, leaving at least three people dead and five others hospitalized, officials said Saturday.
The blaze in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, began late Friday. Witnesses said the provincial council building was set ablaze, causing the area to turn an eerie orange color.
Rescuers retrieved three bodies by Saturday morning, while five people were hospitalized with burns or with broken bones after jumping from the building, disaster authorities confirmed.
The deaths came shortly after more details emerged Saturday of the death of a motorbike taxi driver run over by an armored “tactical” police vehicle during a protest near the national parliament in Jakarta, the capital.
Officials identified the man as Affan Kurniawan. Worthy News, which reported his death on Thursday, obtained video showing the man being hit by a police vehicle. Women could be heard crying, and furious demonstrators rushed to the police as the car attempted to continue driving.
The capital’s police chief, Asep Edi Suheri, confirmed that during the clashes on Thursday, an armoured police vehicle hit and killed Kurniawan, who worked for ride-sharing services Gojek and Grab. He apologised to Kurniawan’s family.
MANY INJURED
A motorcycle drivers’ association said Kurniawan was not involved in the protests, which also injured numerous people.
On Friday afternoon, national police official Abdul Karim told reporters authorities would detain for 20 days the seven police officers who were in the vehicle that hit Kurniawan for a breach of ethics.
Kurniawan’s funeral was attended by hundreds of fellow ride-sharing motorcycle drivers, who escorted his body to the burial site in a convoy of two-wheelers through the centre of Jakarta, witnesses said.
“We are deeply disappointed, especially with the security officials and the national police chief,” said Ari Potret, a driver who attended Kurniawan’s funeral.”This is barbaric.”
Witnesses also shared footage with Worthy News purportedly showing a sniper stationed at a high-rise building focusing on the protests. Hundreds of protesters and at least 25 police officers were injured in the protests in Jakarta and elsewhere, officials said.
Tear gas was fired, and some 950 people were arrested in protests in Jakarta alone by Thursday, according to the National Commission on Human Rights.
Another group, Jakarta Legal Aid, has urged the government to release at least 600 people who remained detained following the demonstrations.
PRAYERS URGED
“Please pray for Indonesia,” said a Christian entrepreneur whose daughters live near the protest area in Jakarta.
She said there was concern about the growing role of security forces and the army in cracking down on protesters, including many students and workers.
Worthy News did not publish her name amid security concerns.
On Saturday, tensions remained high in Jakarta as authorities cleaned up burned-out cars, police offices, and bus shelters that were set ablaze by angry protesters.
Separately, protesters in West Java’s Bandung city also set a regional parliament ablaze on Friday, but no casualties were reported, officials said.
In Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, protesters stormed the regional police headquarters after destroying fences and torching vehicles, Worthy News learned.
Foreign embassies in Jakarta, such as those of the U.S., Australia, and Southeast Asian countries, advised their citizens in Indonesia “to avoid demonstration areas or large public gatherings.”
TIKTOK BAN
With tensions escalating, Chinese-controlled firm ByteDance said it had suspended the live feature of its popular social media platform, TikTok, for the “next few days” in Indonesia following the deadly protests in the country. “In light of the increasing violence in protests in Indonesia, we are taking additional security measures to keep TikTok a safe and civil space.
As part of this measure, we are voluntarily suspending the TikTok LIVE feature for the next few days in Indonesia,” TikTok added.
However, Indonesians doubt that version and say central authorities were involved in banning the platform, which has 100 million “accounts” or users, in Indonesia.
Numerous people attending the rallies had provided footage from the scene, including pictures of the motorbike taxi driver run over by an armored police vehicle. TikTok added that it will continue to remove content that “violates” its community guidelines.
The rallies are a significant challenge for the recently elected President Prabowo Subianto.
Protesters say he has done little to tackle legislators’ massive allowances: This month, local media reported parliamentarians were paid upwards of 100 million rupiah ($6,084) a month, including a substantial housing allowance more than 20 times Jakarta’s minimum wage.
At the same time, taxes have risen, including in Central Java’s Pati regency, where anger over a planned 250 percent property tax hike forced the local regent to resign.
In some areas, land and property tax increases have reached up to 1,000 percent, sparking widespread anger.
SCHOOL MEALS
Workers, strained by social hardships in South East Asia’s largest economy, demand higher wages. Under pressure to show it cares for citizens, the central government in Jakarta redirected money to national programs such as free school meals. However, critics, including students, say the initiative has been poorly managed, with more than 1,000 cases of food poisoning reported across the country.
Yet protesters say that since coming to power nearly a year ago, Prabowo has launched a sweeping militarization drive, making it more difficult to show dissent.
One hundred new battalions have already been formed—with a target of 500 over the next five years—alongside expanded units for marines and special forces.
The government claims the new battalions are for “non-combat roles” in agriculture, animal husbandry, and food security, but critics note the lack of transparency about troop numbers and deployments.
“A big nation like us needs a strong military. No nation can be independent without having a strong military,” Prabowo stressed this month in a speech inaugurating new troops in West Java Province.
Observers warn that the military’s growing role in civilian domains recalls Indonesia’s authoritarian “dwifungsi” era, when soldiers controlled security and governance.
“I am very concerned about the future and that of my children,” a Christian involved in evangelism and house churches told Worthy News. The Christian minority already faces major challenges in the world’s largest Muslim nation, including attacks against churches in some regions, Worthy News documented.
(With additional reporting from Medan and Jakarta.)
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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