Kamisan Protest at Central Java Governor's Office: Citizens Honk Horns to Signal Discontent with Government

The blaring sound of vehicle horns echoed back and forth as Kamisan protesters staged a demonstration in front of the Central Java Governor’s Office in Jalan Pahlawan, Semarang City, on Thursday evening. Passing motorists honked their horns in support of the message conveyed by the participants. During the action, the Kamisan crowd invited motorists passing by to join in voicing their criticism by honking their horns. Several participants stood at the roadside holding a banner that read, ‘Honk if you are fed up with the Government’. Many passing motorists, both on motorcycles and in cars, honked their horns upon reading the banner. Kevin Kurnia Priambodo, Chair of the Student Executive Body at Semarang State Polytechnic, was one of the participants holding the banner to encourage motorists to honk. He admitted he was quite surprised by the highly varied range of drivers who honked. ‘Earlier there were car drivers, online motorcycle taxi drivers, and taxi drivers. So it is not confined only to the lower classes or lower economic groups,’ Kurnia said when interviewed at the location. Kurnia added that a Trans Semarang bus also briefly honked its horn when passing the protest point. According to him, various groups and layers of society are beginning to feel exasperation with the current government administration. ‘If we had to gather all Indonesian people to convey their aspirations, it would be too many and too time-consuming. Through a method as simple as this, we can know that, oh, right now the Indonesian people are anxious about the government’s performance,’ said Kurnia.