Students Against Corruption and Repression

In September 2019, Indonesian students launched nationwide protests—the largest since 1998’s reformasi movement toppled Suharto—demanding President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reverse laws weakening the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), criminalizing extramarital sex, and restricting civil liberties. The “Reformasi Dikorupsi” (Reform is Corrupted) movement alleged Jokowi betrayed democratic gains to consolidate power.

Parliament passed multiple controversial bills simultaneously: neutering KPK by limiting its powers and removing corruption prosecutors; banning extramarital sex and cohabitation (criminalizing LGBTQ+ relationships); restricting abortion; and revising criminal code with blasphemy expansions. Students viewed this as authoritarian backsliding by the supposed reformist Jokowi administration.

Tens of thousands protested in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and across Java and Sumatra. In Yogyakarta, 10,000+ gathered at Gejayan crossroads chanting “Jokowi End of Term!” Police deployed water cannons, tear gas, and made mass arrests—turning campuses into battlegrounds reminiscent of 1998 student uprisings.

Protesters also demanded accountability for military violence in West Papua, where independence movements faced deadly crackdowns, and Kalimantan/Sumatra forest fires creating toxic haze affecting 100 million across Southeast Asia.

The government partially capitulated: postponing criminal code revision and some restrictions, but the KPK law passed—significantly weakening Indonesia’s premier anti-corruption body. Protests gradually subsided by November as pandemic preparations began, though student activists maintained pressure on rights issues.

The movement revealed limits of Jokowi’s reformist credentials and growing authoritarianism in Indonesia’s democracy, but also demonstrated Gen Z’s willingness to mobilize against democratic backsliding.

Sources:
BBC Indonesia, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Jakarta Post, Human Rights Watch