Minister's home looted amid cost-of-living crisis

Protests in Indonesia over rising living costs and inequality intensified overnight, prompting President Prabowo Subianto to cancel a planned trip to China as demonstrators reportedly targeted the homes of the finance minister and several lawmakers.

- 

Rioters entered Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s residence near Jakarta early yesterday, but were repelled by armed forces personnel, Kompas reported. Items were taken from the homes of lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni and two others, according to Detik.com. The reports of looting could not be independently verified, and the finance ministry has not responded to requests for comment.

The protests were sparked by outrage over lawmakers’ housing allowances — nearly 10 times the monthly minimum wage — and fuelled by tax hikes, mass layoffs, and inflation that have disproportionately hit lower-income Indonesians. The death of a motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan, who was run over by a police vehicle during a rally, further inflamed tensions.

Mr Prabowo scrapped plans on Saturday night to attend a security summit in China, underlining the government's growing concern about the demonstrations that have rocked the nation in the past week and hurt stocks and the rupiah.