Prabowo Removes Shirt Before Leaving May Day Stage
President Prabowo Subianto opened his brown safari shirt while distributing T-shirt gifts to the labour crowd during the International Labour Day or May Day commemoration at Monas field on Friday, 1 May 2026.
That moment occurred shortly after Prabowo stepped down from the stage of the May Day Fiesta event held by the Labour Party. Initially, Prabowo gave a speech from the podium accompanied by state officials, Labour Party leaders, and the Indonesian Confederation of Trade Unions (KSPI).
In one point of his speech, Prabowo promised to provide daycare or child care facilities in industrial areas. He stated that the facility was for the children of workers who are employed.
The General Chairman of the Gerindra Party considered child care facilities important for labourers. “Earlier it was mentioned that workers need child care places, daycare. This is a good suggestion. We will fight for this,” said Prabowo from the podium.
After the speech, Prabowo descended from the podium and left the stage at 10:00 WIB. He briefly shook hands with several workers present near the stage. Then Prabowo was escorted to the Garuda Maung vehicle.
Maung headed out of the Monas viewing park gate towards the Merdeka Palace on the north side of Monas. From atop the Maung as it arrived in front of the gate, Prabowo distributed T-shirts wrapped in plastic. Suddenly, Prabowo removed his shirt and was only wearing a black oblong T-shirt. He also removed his black peci cap.
From the open roof of the Maung, Prabowo threw the T-shirts to the crowd welcoming him. Until then the Maung moved away from the crowd to the Presidential Palace gate.
The Indonesian Confederation of Trade Unions (KSPI) revealed the reason for choosing to celebrate Labour Day at Monas, Central Jakarta, on Friday, 1 May 2026. They said the decision was made after several KSPI officials met with President Prabowo Subianto in a discussion about the May Day action and conveyed 11 labour demands.
Labour Party Chairman Said Iqbal said the meeting took place on 28 April 2026. “Before 1 May, KSPI had requested time to meet the president and the request was granted,” said Said Iqbal in a press release read by a KSPI representative through an oration in front of Monas, Central Jakarta, on Friday, 1 May 2026.
That meeting became the reason KSPI decided to move the planned labour action from the House of Representatives (DPR) to the National Monument on this day. KSPI said it had mobilised around 50,000 people in the Labour Day celebration at Monas. “Overall, it is estimated that around 100,000 workers attended the celebration along with various other trade union elements,” he said.