Achmad Sukarsono and Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Thousands of protesters rallied in more than a dozen Indonesian cities on Tuesday and knocked down parliament's gates in the capital, maintaining pressure on the government to review its recent fuel and utility price hikes.

But palace sources denied security worries over the demonstrations were responsible for the cancellation of a presidential trip.

Protests have been a near daily event across the impoverished Asian nation, the world's fourth most populous, since Jakarta announced the price rises earlier this month. However, analysts say thus far they lack the numbers and intensity of those that helped topple former president Suharto in 1998.

While the the government has announced some measures to blunt negative effects from the price hikes on the poor and the economy, it has shown no inclination to reverse the increases.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has said the policies are necessary to curb state subsidies and end the country's reliance on foreign debt. Protesters remain unimpressed.

"Megawati smiles as the people cry," read one banner in Indonesia's second city of Surabaya. A protester in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta shouted: "Megawati should listen to the people. If she can't, just resign." Palace sources denied reports that demonstrations over the issue on Sulawesi island and related concerns about security had prompted cancellation of a Megawati trip to Makassar and other cities there.

"If it's about security or protests, that can be handled," one palace source told Reuters.

Bad weather

A local government official on Sulawesi said the president's office had blamed the cancellation on "Jakarta's political situation and Makassar's bad weather". Megawati is under fire in parliament over the hikes, despite its approval of them in broad terms last year as part of budget considerations.

Around 500 protesters rallied near the airport in Makassar where Megawati was expected to arrive by midday but dispersed early after hearing the president had cancelled her trip.

In Jakarta, around 200 protesters knocked down the gates of the national parliament. However, two lines of barriers behind the front gates blocked protesters from entering the grounds. After the first group continued its street march and security officers restored the gates, another group came to the central Jakarta compound and knocked them down again.

Inside parliament, many legislators urged Megawati to roll back the hikes, with a key politician accusing her of being unapproachable. "I've proposed [to meet the president] four times ... but up until now there has been no response. I won't beg anymore," said Amien Rais, chief of Indonesia's supreme legislative assembly.

Earlier, around 2,000 demonstrators, mostly Muslim housewives, rallied in front of the presidential palace, bringing along pots and pans, empty oil drums and home telephones.

Street rallies against the controversial price hikes also occurred in at least 12 other cities of the world's largest archipelago with some groups trying to enter facilities owned by the state electricity, oil and telephone firms.

Drop prices and president

Chants of "Drop the prices! Drop Megawati!" were among those heard.

Many groups have threatened to bring more people to the streets and take more aggressive action if Megawati maintains her stance, with some saying a massive rally will take place on Wednesday.

So far the rallies, despite their thousands, have tended to fall short of sponsors' forecasts and – unlike those in 1998 – have not seriously disrupted daily life or routine business.

Indeed, Jakarta stocks posted an almost three percent gain on Tuesday, with one fund manager saying: "The protests did not turn out to be as violent as initially feared." And Indonesia's rupiah currency extended gains against the dollar to move close to a one-month high.