Anti-government student protests expected in Jakarta

The Indonesian Students Executive Board’s Alliance will stage a rally today against proposals to either cancel the 2024 presidential elections or scrap the constitutional two-term limit, allowing President Joko Widodo to remain in power. 

The students will also appeal to review the State Capital Law and its negative impact on environmental and public welfare, stabilization of food prices, the agrarian conflicts in Indonesia and the soaring prices of cooking oil across the country. 

These protests appear against the backdrop of a larger palm oil crisis in the country, with domestic shortages of palm oil supply. Given the Russian-Ukraine war’s effect on rising crude palm oil prices, expect the crisis to continue, along with rising prices throughout the country. Rising commodity prices will likely slow down Indonesia’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The crisis has also highlighted public’s increasing dissatisfaction of the elite-captured Indonesian economy. This will likely play against Prabowo Subianto, a former army general and a wealthy businessman, who is currently the forerunner for the 2024 Indonesian elections.