September 4, 2025 — the sky over Jakarta was not just cloudy. It was filled with the dust of injustice, pressure against power, and cries that had been suppressed behind the walls of unfulfilled political promises. Until the violence that continues to be perpetrated against those who voice their rights. The masses took to the streets: from civil society, workers, students, human rights activists, and families of victims of state violence and brutality, they all demanded one simple but very difficult thing: “Real justice, not just a symbol.”
The September 4, 2025, action was initiated by a labor movement affiliated with the Joint Labor Movement (Gebrak). They demanded their main demands, which echoed throughout Thamrin, Kebon Sirih, Patung Kuda, the Palace, and other public spaces:
- 17+8 People’s Demands: a collection of concrete criticisms of state policies, nine short-term demands that must be met within days, and eight long-term demands that must be met within a year.
- Workers and Laborers: Fair wages, elimination of outsourcing, job security, cessation of mass layoffs, and demands for the abolition of contract work, outsourcing, and false partnership systems for workers, including motorcycle taxi drivers.
- Criticism of state apparatus and violence: urging the government to stop all forms of violence by the apparatus and forming an independent investigation team for cases of violence and human rights violations.
- Eliminating the burden on the poor: stabilizing the prices of basic necessities and energy and ensuring fairness in the tax system and economic burdens so that the people do not become victims of policies that only favor the elite.
- Human rights, an unfinished history: The Munir case, which occurred 21 years ago, but whose perpetrators have not been fully investigated; victims of demonstrations and those who have been detained are still demanding clarity and accountability from the state. The Kamisan K3-876 action has become a symbol that old wounds have not yet healed.
Why can this issue no longer be ignored? Because it stems from an accumulation of despair that can no longer be contained over the crimes committed by this country. The people have been patient for too long, bearing the burden of soaring prices for basic commodities, wages that never keep pace with inflation, increasingly limited job opportunities, and a government that feels increasingly distant from their daily lives. Poverty, unemployment, and intolerance of criticism are not just statistics but a stark portrait of lives slowly falling apart before our eyes.
The gap between promises and reality also increasingly exposes the true face of the country. Law enforcement is tainted by favoritism, and human rights protection is merely a label without practice, while public officials increase their allowances and facilities amid poor people who are still struggling to find a morsel of rice. Promises that should be upheld have instead turned into empty mantras to appease the masses.
People’s sovereignty continues to be trampled upon every day, as if it has no value in the eyes of this country’s officials. Demonstrations, which should be a legitimate channel for voicing aspirations, are instead simplified as “disturbances,” and the authorities are becoming increasingly violent, treating those who speak out with threats and violence. This indicates that democracy is at a crossroads: will it exist as a power that serves or as a power that oppresses?
Therefore, the people’s demands require concrete action, not just mere consideration. The government and the House of Representatives must immediately respond to the 17+8 short-term demands not tomorrow, not next week, but today. The elimination of outsourcing, protection for contract workers and motorcycle taxi drivers, and a transparent investigation into the violence committed by the authorities must be carried out without further ado. The security forces, both the police and the military, must immediately withdraw from their civilian roles, stop the practice of violence against demonstrators, and pave the way for a fair legal process. The state must no longer ignore human rights.
Unresolved historical issues, such as the murder of Munir, must not be allowed to remain empty symbols devoid of meaning. Justice must be realized in court decisions, public acknowledgment, and reparations for victims and their families. Likewise, public policy must favor the common people: stabilization of fuel, basic food, and electricity prices; guaranteed decent wages; free and equitable education; and fair taxation. Welfare is not a luxury reserved for a select few, but a basic right of all people.
The people must no longer remain silent. The cries that have been suppressed for decades and the oppression that has been silenced by an authoritarian regime have found their way back to the surface. The voice of truth, the voice of justice, and the voice of the urban poor have shaken the Prabowo Gibran regime today.
And to all who read this: do not just listen; you must also fight, because the injustice committed by the state can touch any one of us. Be part of this demand. Speak out, discuss, and demand that those in power understand that the people cannot be kept with empty hopes and promises polished by words without proof. Democracy is not just about those in power; it is about the people voicing their needs and demanding to be served well.
