Indonesia deploys 9,500 police as students plan protests over Prabowo's two years
Students from at least nine universities are marching in Jakarta over living costs, corruption and free speech, as the president’s approval falls to 44.5%.
Known
•About 9,500 police are deployed in Jakarta (Indonesian police). •Students from at least nine universities plan protests (Reuters). •Approval is 44.5%, down from 81.2% (Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting).
Not known yet
•How many people will join the protests. •Whether the protests stay peaceful. •How the government will respond to the students’ demands.
Indonesia is deploying about 9,500 police officers in Jakarta on Tuesday, 20 October, for protests marking President Prabowo Subianto’s two years in office, police said.
Students from at least nine universities plan to demonstrate. Their concerns include rising living costs, limits on freedom of expression, corruption, environmental damage and the cost of education. The University of Indonesia’s student body says it will also protest recent forest fires and the fall in the stock market. Reuters reported that it is unclear how many students will take part.
Prabowo’s approval rating fell to 44.5% this month in surveys by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting, down from 81.2% in November last year.
The protests follow a wave of unrest that began in 2025, when nationwide demonstrations broke out after police killed a motorcycle taxi driver.