President Prabowo Subianto pledged to revoke lawmakers' perks and privileges, cut the 50m rupiah monthly housing allowance and suspend overseas parliamentary trips under a new moratorium to ease public fury after deadly protests. The allowance, worth about $3,075, was introduced last year and is nearly ten times the Jakarta minimum wage. Five days of protests began after reports that all 580 lawmakers receive the payment. Protests escalated following the death of ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan, who was run over and killed by police, and at least six people have died. Prabowo met political and religious figures and cancelled a planned trip to China.
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has pledged to revoke lawmakers' perks and privileges, including a controversial $3,000 housing allowance, in a bid to ease public fury after nationwide protests in which six people have died. Flanked by leaders of eight Indonesian political parties, Prabowo told a televised news conference in the capital, Jakarta, that they had agreed to cut the housing allowance and suspend overseas trips for members of parliament. It was a rare concession in response to mounting public anger.
The allowance, introduced last year, is almost 10 times the Jakarta minimum wage. President Prabowo Subianto meets the family of Affan Kurniawan, a ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan who was run over and killed by police during protests in Jakarta on Thursday. Photograph: BPMI Presidential Secretariat/Cahyo/Sutantaaditya.com/Shutterstock Critics argue the new allowance is not only excessive but also insensitive at a time when most people are grappling with soaring living costs and taxes and rising unemployment.
Collection
[
|
...
]