#BubarkanDPR ##Demo28Agustus #DemoJakarta #DemoIndonesia
These are just a few hashtags that were widely circulated on social media during the closing days of August 2025.
Indonesia’s most significant civil unrest in years began with mass protests on 25 August 2025, as students, workers, and ride-hailing drivers gathered nationwide to oppose parliament’s planned pay and allowance increases. As economic frustrations mounted and demonstrations intensified, tragedy struck on the 28th. A video of a police truck driving on a largely empty street at night, flanked by a large crowd running in the same direction, suddenly turns when a figure in green, still on the street, gets hit by the vehicle. A different video in the same post, shows what appears to be the same police vehicle driving of while being chased by a mob of protesters. As the camera turns, a group is former around a man in a green Ojek uniform, his face covered in blood and shock in his eyes. This video appears to capture the final moments of Affan Kurniawan, a 21 year old delivery driver, who passed away from his injuries later that night. As of 22 November 2025, the time of writing, graphic video imagery of the incident is still available online.
News of Kurniawan’s death rapidly spread and became a catalyst, transforming the initially pay-focused protests into a much wider movement fueled by public outrage against police brutality. Events of the summer appear to have left 11 people dead as of 07 November 2025, according to Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights. This organisation is known in Indonesian as Komnas Ham, search for "komnas ham" (mati OR kematian OR jumlah korban tewas) to find results with the name of this authority combined with either "death", "dead", or "death toll". Human Rights Watch claimed that hundreds had been injured as of early September. On Instagram, Jaring.Indonesia, an Indonesian investigative journalism outlet and Member of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, noted that 3,195 people had been arrested as of 01 September 2025.
As events quickly escalated, social media became a safe haven for the frustrated and disgruntled to share their emotions. But, at the same time, it also became a digital repository of transpired events. Below is what I call barely an overview of what happened, my attempt at sampling a capture of data. This does not do these protests justice, but is intended to give the reader a feeling for the type of content shared by Indonesians during the final days of August 2025. It also aims to serve as a notice for future investigators.
The #BubarkanDPR or #DissolveParliament shows a mixture of mostly very disgruntled content by supposedly Indonesian nationals, frustrated with the state of their political system. For Instagram content try site:instagram.com " BubarkanDPR” on Google.
The Instagram page of Indonesian journalist Ilham Apriyanto shows nine videos depicting aerial imagery during the protest dates:
Riot police appear in formation outside the House of Representatives building on the 25th
A large crowd shooting fireworks in Jalan Pejompongan Raya, Central Jakarta, on the 28th.
The next video details that this relates to the blocking of the Pejompongan-Palmerah train line.Still on the 28th, a night vision video shows a small fire and protesters on the street in Simpang Lima Senen, Central Jakarta.
The next day in the same area, a shot of a large column of cars and motor cycles recenters on a side street with some smoldering fire.
Still on the 29th, a very large group of motor vehicle drivers, mostly in green, appear to carry the body of the deceased Affan, according to the post’s description.
- In a nighttime video on 30 August 2025, The building facade of the East Jakarta Metro Police Station appears to have been set on fire. Fireworks are shot into the air, lighting up the night sky.
- The last video shows the situation outside of the parliamentary building. Outside of the fence, motor vehicle drivers are stationed with some visible residual debris, presumably set on fire the nights before. On the other side of the fence, a security build-up consisting of multiple vehicles can be seen.
The profile of ilhampid shows a scene in Jakarta on 25 August 2025. Video imagery shows security forces dispersing the crowd with tear gas and water cannons. Police in riot control gear can be seen moving the crowd back while some protesters try to push back, either by kicking or with sticks.
The same profile, a few days later, posted a video of a large crowd standing outside with a large building going up in a violent fire. The text Makassar stands out. A search query of “protest” AND “Makassar” quickly finds an explainer by the Guardian, noting that the building houses the regional parliament/city council. The video was shared on social media from various angles.
On 28 August, a police vehicle appears to try to disperse a crowd while on fire. Concurrently, protesters are walking on the street, seemingly in a united fashion. Loud explosions can be heard, fireworks are also evident.
On the 29th, a video on Instagram shows protesters can be seen running away, while a group of "Brimob" riot police charge in and beat up whoever they manage to corner. One post mentions “Pola Jateng” which is an abbreviation of the Central Java Regional Police.
An interesting observation can be made around the end of the video: several individuals in civilian attire wearing clubs or sticks in close proximity of the riot police, walking in their direction are not attacked, suggesting they may be affiliated. One individual in civilian attire even appears to be clapping.
The house of Ahmad Sahroni, an Indonesian Member of Parliament who called protesters “stupid” for wanting to dissolve parliament, was looted by a mob of protesters in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, during the day on 30 August 2025. Videos are widely shared on social media. One good entry point to view additional content from various angles is by taking a snapshot from inside his house, showing a decorative ornament. Alternatively, a good snapshot can be taken of the crowd outside. Among other things, video imagery shows a sports car being vandalised, a large crowd inside a ransacked home, and a piano being rolled out onto the street which looks remarkably similar to the piano that appeared to be inside the house in a separate video. A safe also appeared to have been looted with cash being distributed amongst the crowd.
Central to the protests were the Gerakan Mahasiswa Motor (Motor Student Movement in English) and the Aliansi Mahasiswa dan Ojol (Alliance of Students and Online Motorcycle Taxi Drivers in English). A video on TikTok depicts a large crowd staging a protest outside the Regional Police Headquarters of West Nusa Tenggara on 30 August 2025. The description mentions the Aliansi Mahasiswa. Several individuals wearing either Grab, Gojek or Ojol uniforms can be seen. During the video, a police spokesperson appears to have met the crowd outside of the gates, talking in a peaceful manner.
In response, President Prabowo Subianto reshuffled his cabinet, by firing his finance and security ministers in early September 2025. In late October 2025, Yassierli, the Minister of Manpower, responsible for worker and labour laws, announced new protections for Ojol drivers.
Yet only time will tell if the death of Affan will serve as a wake up call.