‘No easy solutions’: did Indonesia’s Prabowo inherit a poisoned chalice?

Indonesia’s wave of unrest has put President Prabowo Subianto under intense pressure less than a year into his term, as he grapples with deep-seated public anger and economic anxiety amid attempts to stop the “deep rot” in his sprawling political coalition.

While frustration over inequality, elite privilege and economic hardship has long been simmering, observers say Prabowo’s ambitious spending, coupled with a corrupt coalition “inherited” from his predecessor, may also have limited his room to manoeuvre as tensions reach a boiling point.

In a televised address on Sunday, Prabowo moved to defuse tensions by announcing cuts to lawmakers’ housing allowances and a freeze on overseas trips. The concessions came after protests erupted last week over revelations that legislators were receiving 50 million rupiah (US$3,075) a month in housing support – nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta.

But analysts warn such steps may do little to ease a broader sense of malaise, with many Indonesians increasingly disillusioned by elite excess and a government they see as out of touch.

“The rot is very deep,” said Yohanes Sulaiman, an associate professor of international relations at Jenderal Achmad Yani University, noting that corrupt politicians had been living lavishly, “paid handsomely” while “doing very little in return”.

Yohanes said public concern had been brewing since February and described Prabowo’s measures as “too little, too late”.

  

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