Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has decided against forming an independent government investigative team to look into the riots that occurred in the last week of August 2025. This announcement was made by Yusril Ihza, the Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Security Affairs.
"If anyone asks whether it is necessary to form one or not, the president said it is not necessary," Yusril stated at the Presidential Palace Complex in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
The former Chair of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) noted that the National Conscience Movement had previously proposed the formation of an investigative team to President Prabowo. While Yusril said the president saw the proposal as good, reasonable, and worth considering, Prabowo ultimately clarified that a joint fact-finding team was not needed.
According to Yusril, Prabowo has instead entrusted the investigation of the riot cases to an independent non-judicial investigative team led by Komnas HAM (the National Human Rights Commission).
"Please let Komnas HAM and the six state human rights institutions work to conduct an investigation, to find out the facts behind the demonstrations," Yusril said.
The National Conscience Movement, a group of intellectuals and clerics, met with President Prabowo at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, September 11, 2025. They presented several demands related to the demonstrations that had taken place in late August.
Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, a member of Amnesty International Indonesia, confirmed that one of the key requests was for the immediate formation of an independent investigative team to look into the demonstrations.
The protests began on August 25, 2025, in response to the DPR's (House of Representatives) decision to raise salaries and allowances up to Rp100 million amid budget cuts. Public anger escalated and peaked on Thursday, August 28, 2025, after online motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan was killed when he was crushed by a tactical police vehicle in Jakarta.
This incident ignited public outrage across various regions, leading to the vandalism of public facilities and the looting of DPR members' homes in some areas. The demonstrations resulted in the deaths of 10 people.
– Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to the report