Jakarta commuters face disruptions as post-protest unrest spreads to residential areas
Jakarta commuters faced significant disruptions on Friday morning, August 28, as unrest from Thursday's protest outside the Senayan Legislative Complex continued overnight and spread into residential areas of Pejompongan and Slipi, where residents erected makeshift roadblocks against unidentified groups.
Rail operator KAI Commuter suspended service to and from Tanah Abang station starting at 4:50 a.m. local time due to crowds along the Palmerah-Tanah Abang tracks. Transjakarta bus services also experienced disruptions, with routes including 3F (Kalideres–Gelora Bung Karno) and the SH2 route from Blok M to Soekarno-Hatta Airport temporarily suspended.
Asset forfeiture bill protest
The disruptions followed Thursday's demonstration by the United Pati People's Alliance (AMPB), which brought hundreds of protesters from Pati, Central Java, to demand swift passage of the asset forfeiture bill and tougher penalties for corruption. The legislation, first proposed in 2008, would allow authorities to confiscate assets suspected of being proceeds of crime, in some cases even before criminal conviction. The bill's legal framework is entirely new to Indonesia, contributing to its 18-year delay.
President Prabowo Subianto ordered the government to accelerate passage of the bill, with Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas confirming the directive on August 14. Commission III of the House of Representatives has held 35 public hearings and conducted three regional working visits on the legislation, with only about eight effective weeks remaining before the December deadline.
On Thursday evening, DPR Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad signed a letter of commitment pledging to pass the Asset Forfeiture Bill by December 15, 2026, during a hearing with AMPB representatives witnessed by fellow deputy speakers Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal and Saan Mustopa. Following this meeting, AMPB protesters left the legislative complex.
Overnight clashes
However, unidentified crowds remained around the area, with some burning trash and others attempting to force entry into the complex. The Jakarta Police had deployed 4,274 personnel to secure the demonstration. When officers used water cannon to disperse the crowds, groups spread toward Pejompongan in Central Jakarta and Slipi in West Jakarta.
The clashes intensified through the night. A Slipi Police subsector post was set ablaze along with two motorcycles parked nearby. A witness identified as Riki told Kompas.com that a group believed to be students arrived from Karet Kuningan in South Jakarta carrying bamboo poles, wooden sticks and rocks, pelting the police post with projectiles before officers fled.
Residents blocked Jl. Pejompongan Raya heading toward Palmerah Station until approximately 8 a.m. on Friday, when traffic conditions normalized.
Background
The AMPB previously organized major demonstrations in August 2025 against a proposed 250% property tax increase in Pati that drew over 100,000 people and resulted in 33 injuries. During the mobilization for Thursday's protest, state-owned Bank Mandiri temporarily froze the bank account of AMPB coordinator Supriyono, known as Botok, at police request, though the bank later unblocked the account and apologized.
Thursday's protest occurred exactly one year after nationwide demonstrations in late August 2025 resulted in at least 10 deaths and more than 3,000 arrests. Those protests were triggered by anger over lawmakers increasing their housing allowance to 44 times the Jakarta minimum wage amid a cost-of-living crisis, and were further inflamed when online motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan was killed by a police tactical vehicle on August 28, 2025.
