Medan – Dozens of students from the Medan branch of the Indonesian National Student Movement (GMNI) in North Sumatra held a demonstration in front of the Medan city Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) building on Wednesday June 17.
The protesters carried posters and banners with demands related to the rising price of basic commodities, the high cost of living and an evaluation of several government policies. They highlighted the increasingly difficult economic conditions faced by the community amidst the rising cost of basic needs.
"We see the price of basic necessities continuing to rise and people's purchasing power increasingly under pressure. On the other hand, there are still many fundamental problems that have not been resolved, ranging from education and unemployment to economic inequality", said GMNI Medan Chairperson Damses Sianturi in a speech.
The protesters highlighted three government programs that consume significant amount of the budget including the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program, the Red and White Village Cooperatives program and the People's Schools.
"The free nutritious meals consume a budget of 1 trillion rupiah per day. Then there's the Red and White Village Cooperatives and the People's School. This is a significant drain on the state budget, a drain on state finances", he asserted.
However with the current economic situation which is not good, the government is actually going against the ordinary people, defending its ego, and not stopping any of the programs that are draining the budget.
"We want to convey to the government that the Indonesian public are the ordinary people rather than the president today, who are to be protected not intimidated, not for them to intervene", he asserted.
In addition, the protesters criticised the plan to add more Indonesian Military [TNI] battalions to several regencies and cities in North Sumatra. This policy is deemed inappropriate amidst budget efficiency efforts and the economic challenges currently facing the people.
"Then there's the troop increases. As we know in North Sumatra itself if I'm not mistaken, the troop increase is 300, if not 3,000. Given today's economic conditions, this should be stopped, to suppress the dollar [exchange rate against the rupiah]," he said.
According to Sianturi the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is also cosying up to the military through its programs implemented by the military. Therefore, the protesters demanded that the TNI be returned to its barracks, in accordance with its function.
"Starting with free nutritious meals, not a single Red and White Village Cooperative can qualify without going through the military. So, the budget for the Red and White Village Cooperatives, in the regions, is actually held by Dandims [district military commanders]. We demand that the TNI return to its national defence function and uphold civilian supremacy", he said.
Aside from this, the People's School Program is also managed by the military. A significant portion of the budget is allocated to People's Schools, with the same concept as state schools.
"And People's Schools, this represents a failure of thinking on the part of today's president. Then the government opened positions for People's School teachers, why hasn't the government increased the salaries or wages of honorary teachers teaching in public schools? This is a failure of thinking", he stressed.
According to Sianturi, none of the government's programs are aimed at improving the nation's intelligence. These programs are merely meant to satisfy the Prabowo-Gibran administration’s appetite.
"They chose to feed the nation's children, not to educate them. This is a failure of thinking. We consider this a failure of thinking and a mistake in interpreting our own constitution. We demand reform, the overthrow of the Prabowo-Gibran regime. Restore civilian supremacy", he explained. (fnr/isn)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Massa GMNI Demo di Depan DPRD Medan, Soroti Program Boros Anggaran".]
