Students Stage Rally in Sudirman Area, Highlighting Food Prices and Disasters

A mass rally by the National Student Front took place in the Sudirman area of Jakarta on Tuesday (18/8/2026). The students voiced criticism of several government policies they deemed not yet in favour of public interests, ranging from staple food prices to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme and the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP).

During the protest, the crowd also urged the government to declare the disasters in Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara as national disasters and to accelerate the recovery of affected areas. The situation became tense when the demonstrators engaged in shoving with officers during the rally.