‘Fake students’ at Indonesia police rally raise questions over efforts to counter dissent

A participant’s admission that he was paid to pose as a university student has raised questions about the event and its political purpose

A rally organised by Jakarta police to promote national unity has instead raised questions about whether the Indonesian government is using public events to blunt dissent, with questions raised over the identities of some participants after one admitted in a television interview that he had been paid to attend while posing as a university student.

The controversy has fuelled criticism of what analysts describe as an intensifying effort to drown out opposing voices, while drawing attention to the role of state-backed influencers and celebrities promoting President Prabowo Subianto’s policy agenda.

On Wednesday, marking National Youth Pledge Day – commemorating a historic 1928 declaration of unity against Dutch colonial rule – thousands of university students and civil society activists staged street protests in Jakarta. Demonstrators voiced anger over the regional haze crisis, living costs and several of Prabowo’s multibillion-dollar flagship projects.

The following day, the Jakarta police held an event at the same site under the theme “Patriotic, Resilient and Empathetic Youth for Indonesia”, drawing military and police personnel, university students and celebrities.