GMNI Protesters Rally at Medan Council, Decry 'Wasteful' Budget Programmes
Dozens of students from the Medan branch of the Indonesian National Student Movement (GMNI) staged a protest in front of the Medan City DPRD building on Wednesday (17/6). The demonstrators carried posters and banners outlining demands related to rising staple food prices, the high cost of living, and an evaluation of several government policies. They highlighted the increasingly difficult economic conditions faced by the public amid surging basic needs.
“We see that the prices of basic necessities continue to rise and people’s purchasing power is increasingly squeezed. On the other hand, many fundamental issues remain unresolved, from education and unemployment to economic inequality,” said Medan GMNI Branch Chairman Damses Sianturi in his speech.
The crowd focused on three government programmes they claim consume vast amounts of budget: the Free Nutritious Meals Programme, the Red and White Village Cooperatives, and the People’s Schools. “The free nutritious meals programme costs Rp1 trillion per day. Then there are the Red and White Village Cooperatives and the People’s Schools. This is severely draining the state budget, depleting state finances,” he asserted.
He argued that with the current poor economic conditions, the government is instead opposing the people, maintaining its ego, and not suspending a single one of these budget-draining programmes. “We want to convey to the government that the people of Indonesia belong to the people, not to today’s president; they are to be protected, not intimidated, not to be intervened against,” he stressed.
Additionally, the protesters criticised plans to add TNI battalions in several regencies and cities in North Sumatra. The policy was deemed inappropriate amid efforts to achieve budget efficiency and the economic challenges facing the public. “Then the addition of troops, as we know in North Sumatra itself, if I am not mistaken, the troop increase is 300 or 3,000 additional personnel. With today’s economic conditions, this should be halted to suppress the dollar,” he stated.
According to him, the Prabowo-Gibran administration is also cosying up to the military through programmes run by the armed forces. Therefore, the crowd demanded that the TNI be returned to the barracks in accordance with its function. “Starting from the free nutritious meals, not a single Red and White Village Cooperative can operate without going through the military. So the budget for the Red and White Village Cooperatives in the regions is held by the Dandim. We demand the TNI be returned to its national defence function and civilian supremacy be upheld,” he said.
Furthermore, the People’s Schools programme is also managed by the military. He claimed vast amounts of budget are being poured into People’s Schools with the same concept as state schools. “And the People’s Schools represent a failure of thinking by today’s president. Then the government is opening formations for People’s School teaching staff; why doesn’t the government raise the salaries or wages of honorary teachers working in state schools? This is a failure of thinking,” he stressed.
He argued that not a single government programme is being implemented to educate the nation. These programmes are merely to satisfy the Prabowo-Gibran administration. “They choose to fill the stomachs of 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 the constitution itself. We demand reform, overthrow the Prabowo-Gibran regime. Restore civilian supremacy,” he concluded.