Jakarta – Various elements of society are staging protests again this Thursday, September 4, 2025. According to information obtained by Tempo, the alliance of students from the All-Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM SI) will protest in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building, while the Labor Movement with the People (GEBRAK) will demonstrate in the area near the Arjuna Wijaya Horse Statue, not far from the Presidential Palace, in Central Jakarta.
Head of Public Relations Section of Jakarta Central Metro Police, Inspector Ruslan Basuki, confirmed the information. "Today's protest is planned to be held in two places, namely the DPR building and the Horse Statue," Ruslan said in a WhatsApp message on Thursday morning, September 4, 2025.
He explained that in securing the protests, the police will deploy 2,143 combined personnel. However, Ruslan did not specify the number of personnel assigned to the two different locations."We urge that the process of expressing opinions can be done in an orderly manner," he said.
Previously, GEBRAK representative Unang Sunarno stated that around 1,000 workers, students, and civilians would protest in the area near the Arjuna Wijaya Horse Statue with five priority demands. The five priority demands are urging the authorities to stop repressive actions against protesters and for the police to immediately release the demonstrators who have been detained throughout the past week's protests.
Furthermore, the government must lower the tax burden on the people, reduce the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities in the market, and the House of Representatives must immediately pass the Asset Seizure Bill into law.
Unang explained that President Prabowo Subianto and the DPR must promptly follow up on these five demands if they are to demonstrate their commitment as pro-people leaders. "The government must declare a commitment to always listen to the aspirations of the people by promptly realizing these demands, "said the General Chair of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions Alliance (KASBI) on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
As for the demands of BEM SI, they are demanding that the DPR and the government enact the Asset Seizure Law, stop taxing ordinary people, evaluate the DPR's budget, audit state-owned enterprises, and revolutionize the cabinet. They are also demanding the release of detained protesters by the police.
The BEM SI protest is a continuation of the protest that was canceled on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. The protest was canceled due to the situation still not being conducive. The wave of mass protests began on Monday, August 25, 2025. Demonstrations for several consecutive days led to chaos, resulting in the death of an online motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan, who was run over by a police tactical vehicle of the Mobile Brigade on Thursday night, August 28, 2025.
The incident sparked anger among the masses, and the following protests were accompanied by the destruction and burning of police headquarters in Jakarta and the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) buildings in various regions. The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) recorded 10 deaths and more than three thousand injuries during the demonstrations. The police also arrested more than a thousand demonstrators.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2046072/workers-protest-near-palace-students-rally-at-dpr-toda