Three dead after protesters torch regional parliament building in Indonesia

At least five people injured after protesters burn Makassar city council building in South Sulawesi

At least three people were killed and five were injured after anti-government protesters in Indonesia set a regional parliament building ablaze late on Friday.

The disaster management agency confirmed the casualties in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, but did not specify the cause.

Protests against soaring prices and joblessness, as well as extravagant housing perks for lawmakers, erupted earlier this week in the capital Jakarta and several major cities and escalated after a young motorcycle taxi driver was killed in a police crackdown on a rally outside the parliament.

Affan Kurniawan, 21, was run over by a police vehicle. The All-Indonesian Students Union then called for fresh protests to denounce police brutality while Jakarta’s provincial government pledged “full support” for his funeral arrangements on Friday.

Kurniawan wasn’t involved in the unrest and was out making deliveries, national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told reporters on Friday.

According to the Antara news agency, the people who died in Makassar were trapped in the burning city council building. The injured included at least two people who jumped out to escape the fire, the disaster agency said.

The city council was reportedly in session on the third floor of the building when it was set afire. Television reports showed the council building ablaze overnight, causing the area to turn an eerie orange colour.

A regional parliament was also set on fire in West Java’s Bandung city on Friday, but no casualties were reported.

People inspect wreckage of cars burned during a protest against lavish allowances given to lawmakers in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, on 30 August 2025 (AP)

In Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city, protesters stormed the police headquarters after smashing fences and torching vehicles. Security forces fired tear gas and used water cannons, but protesters fought back with fireworks and wooden clubs.

In Jakarta, local media reported incidents of looting and of protestors damaging transportation facilities. In response, city authorities shut down the mass rapid transit railway stations near the demonstration sites as well as the Transjakarta bus service.

However, the capital city was largely calm compared to Friday as authorities cleaned up cars, police offices, and bus shelters that were set on fire by angry protesters.

The unrest poses the first major test to Prabowo Subianto’s government.

Mr Prabowo, who took over as president last October, visited the home of the driver late on Friday, offering condolences to his parents and vowing to oversee the investigation into his death.

The protests were sparked by reports that all 580 lawmakers received a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah ($3,075) in addition to their salaries. The allowance, introduced last year, is almost 10 times the Jakarta minimum wage.

Protesters argue the allowance is not only excessive but insensitive at a time when most people are grappling with soaring living costs and taxes and rising unemployment.