SANTA CRUZ, Laguna – Progressive groups and rights organizations in the Philippines have expressed their solidarity with the ongoing Indonesian protests.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan extended its greetings to the Indonesian people, saying that it supports the Indonesian people’s “demand for an end to inequalities, corruption and impunity.” 

The alliance noted that both Indonesia and the Philippines “share a common history of anti-colonial and anti-dictatorship struggles and a common history of militant people’s resistance.”

Similarly, labor rights advocacy organization Center for Trade Union and Human Rights said that “the Indonesian workers and people have legitimate reasons” to stage massive protests for their demands.

“Politicians are taking money from the workers and the people that should be spent for social services, social protection and social justice programs that advance labor and human rights,” the group said in its statement. “They have become divorced from the workers and people that they should serve, and have rejected demands for a wage hike and other measures that advance labor rights.”

Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno also expressed their solidarity, saying that “whether in Manila or Jakarta, there is only one enemy: the exploitative capitalists squeezing superprofits from the working class, and the fascists protecting them.”

Indonesians were outraged by an attempt by Indonesian officials to give a housing allowance of Rp 50 million (US$ 3,043) to themselves, sparking massive protests that began on August 25, mostly led by students, workers, and delivery riders.

The protests reached a fever pitch following the death of 21-year old delivery rider Affan Kurniawan during a mobilization in Jakarta, August 28. Kurniawan was run over by a tactical vehicle belonging to the Mobile Brigade Corps. Following his death, protests have sparked in Bandung, Surabaya, Malang, Solo, Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, and other major cities in the country. 

Another protester, student Rheza Sendy Pratama, was killed in Yogyakarta, August 31, during a police assault.

Indonesian progressive alliance Front Perjuangan Rakyat has stated that the popular unrest is “inextricably linked to the anti-people policies of the Prabowo-Gibran regime, which have deliberately forced the people into increasingly difficult conditions amidst a crisis and deepening poverty.”

FPR has noted that the Prabowo government has arrested at least 951 protesters in Jakarta alone since the start of the mass unrest. The group also denounced Prabowo’s statement authorizing Indonesian security forces to “injure and kill those who wage resistance against his regime.”

CTUHR noted that the Indonesian situation “has parallels in the Philippines,” pointing to low wages and massive corruption. Minimum wage in Indonesia varies from region to region, with the highest being in the nation’s capital of Jakarta with Rp 4.27 million (US$ 260). In contrast, government officials in Indonesia’s parliament earn Rp 100 million (US$ 6,087) monthly.

This mirrors the situation in the Southeast Asian region. In the Philippines, legislators’ base pay is 417 percent higher than the minimum wage, while in Cambodia, government ministers get paid 6006.5 percent higher than minimum wage earners. (RVO)