Death penalty for corruption? Anger boils over as Indonesia’s free meals scheme becomes symbol of political rot
Protesters in Jakarta marched on the Indonesian parliament to demand stricter anti-corruption measures and the cancellation of a government-led free school meals program. The demonstration highlights growing public frustration over economic inequality and alleged graft within the administration.
Why it matters
The unrest reflects significant political instability and public dissatisfaction with the current Indonesian government's social policies.
JAKARTA, Aug 28 — Hundreds of Indonesians marched on parliament on Thursday to demand harsher penalties for corrupt officials in a country historically blighted by graft in its public and private sectors.
Riot police kept the protesters outside the closed gates of the legislature, where they paraded a metres-long flag in the red-and-white national colours and hung a banner reading: “The corrupt get rich while the people suffer.”
Some tried fruitlessly to storm the gate, while others threw trash and random objects over it into the grounds of the legislature.
Jakarta police said earlier it had deployed 18,500 officers to secure the streets of the capital at a time when public anger has been rising over economic hardship and growing inequality.
“What we need is for the government to wake up,” demonstrator Dian Purmomo, a 50-year-old author, told AFP.
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