Jakarta’s rival demonstrations on Nov. 7 showed the political strains around President Prabowo Subianto, as workers rallied for him while women protested his policies amid a police wiretapping inquiry.
Reuters reported that both demonstrations drew hundreds of people. Civil society groups used the women’s march to call for greater rights and criticize Prabowo’s handling of fires that had continued for months, his free-meal program and a tax on women’s sanitary products.
At the workers’ gathering, Labour Party Chairman Said Iqbal, a special adviser to Prabowo, called for unity behind the president. Detik News quoted Iqbal saying he could mobilize union members across towns and factories to oppose threats to Prabowo’s presidency. In a separate comment, he said members were prepared to respond if unrest arose, Detik News reported.
A police investigation into alleged interception of Prabowo’s communications has four senior police officers among those named as suspects, Reuters reported. One suspect is a former police chief Reuters described as an ally of former President Joko Widodo. Reuters said the allegations have heightened tension between Prabowo and Widodo, who previously backed him. Widodo said he respected the legal process, and a lawyer for one suspect said his client would cooperate, Reuters reported.
Minister of the State Secretariat Prasetyo Hadi said Prabowo signed the decision to dismiss chief of staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo on Nov. 4. Investigators had named Listyo a suspect before the decision, according to EconoTimes’ earlier report on the dismissal.
Reuters also reported weaker investor confidence in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, and public criticism of the cost of Prabowo’s populist policies and the response to ongoing fires.
