Hundreds of Indonesian security personnel were deployed across the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday ahead of student protests against President Prabowo Subianto’s policies and his government’s handling of forest fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Students from the University of Indonesia said they planned to demonstrate at several locations in the capital, calling on the government to declare the ongoing wildfires a national disaster and suspend spending on populist initiatives, including Prabowo’s free meals programme. The demonstrations are being organised under the hashtag #IndonesiaAware, although the number of students expected to participate remains unclear.
A heavy police and military presence, including armoured vehicles, was visible in busy parts of central Jakarta on Wednesday morning. The deployment comes amid growing public discontent over government priorities and the response to fires that have affected communities across parts of the country.
The students are demanding that the government formally recognise the scale of the wildfires in Sumatra and Borneo by declaring a national disaster. They are also challenging spending on the free meals scheme, one of Prabowo’s prominent programmes, arguing that government expenditure should be reconsidered amid the environmental emergency.
Protests over the fires have also taken place in haze-affected areas of Sumatra and Borneo. Demonstrators in Central Kalimantan held a protest last week, as residents in parts of the region faced conditions associated with forest-fire haze.
The demonstrations come as Prabowo’s approval ratings have declined steadily since late last year, according to surveys conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC). The trend has emerged during the second year of his presidency, as his administration faces criticism over policy priorities and its response to public concerns.
Indonesia has experienced several rounds of protests in recent months. In August, hundreds of people were detained during the country’s last major protest, which disrupted transport in the capital and triggered unrest. Students also held demonstrations last week, prompting authorities to deploy more than 9,000 security officers ahead of protests marking two years of Prabowo’s presidency.
The latest mobilisation follows nationwide demonstrations in 2025 that continued for weeks after police killed a motorcycle taxi driver. Several other people died during the ensuing unrest, which spread across the country.
Wednesday’s planned demonstrations bring together demands concerning government spending, environmental policy and accountability over the handling of forest fires. The students’ call for a national disaster declaration places the government’s response to the fires at the centre of the protests, alongside opposition to the free meals programme.
Authorities had deployed security personnel and armoured vehicles in central Jakarta ahead of the planned gatherings, while the scale of student participation remained uncertain.
