Indonesian students rally against revised laws

Student protests have broken out in major cities of Indonesia. These were against ‘the new law passed by the House of Representatives last Thursday which raised the retirement age of the defence personnel, and it has also allowed them to serve in other ministries

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This was prohibited in the 2004 Indonesian Armed Forces Law (TNI). Students suspect that this is a way to let the military back into government by President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. This is seen as a return to the days of President Suharto, whose 32-year military dictatorship was brought down in 1998. Suharto’s dictatorial rule carried the self-proclaimed motto of “New Order”. The students are fiercely supporting the democratic freedoms and they are on alert of any sign of the return of military controlling civilian administration.

The issue of relaxing rules for military party participation in government was not the only reason for students’ anger against the government. They have also been protesting against the USSI9 billion budgetary cuts as an austerity measure. There is a sense of despair among the youth about the future of the country. A hashtag that has been trending recently has been “Just Flee First”, implying that the youth should leave the country and look for a future elsewhere, which reflected their lack of hope in the country’s future.