Around 9,500 police officers are being deployed in Jakarta on Tuesday for student protests marking President Prabowo Subianto's second anniversary in office, CNA reports.
Students from at least two universities, including the University of Indonesia, plan to demonstrate over recent forest fires and a slump in the stock market, which along with a weaker rupiah they see as evidence of a fragile economy. Greenpeace hung a banner on a major Jakarta monument calling for action on climate and living costs.
Prabowo, a retired general, won the 2024 election by a wide margin but has struggled to reassure the public and investors about the cost of his populist programmes. His approval rating in Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting surveys has fallen to 44.5 per cent this month, from 81.2 per cent last November.
Source: CNA