group of social media influencers and online activists from the “17+8 People’s Demands” movement staged a protest in front of the House of Representatives on Thursday, listing a series of demands that include freezing all allowances for lawmakers.
The campaign centers on 17 demands that the House and the government must work on in a week by Friday, such as freezing all House allowances, ending military patrols and releasing all protesters arrested during the past week’s demonstrations. It also comprises eight long-term demands to be settled next year, including House reform.
The demands were summarized from various sources, such as studies from civic groups on the impact of government policies, as well as pressure from labor groups.
“We are capturing the aspirations of people and what they are anxious about. We’re upset and want a transparent government, comprehensive institutional reform and leaders who empathize with the people,” said Andhyta Firselly Utami, founder of Think Policy, which among those who drafted the demands.
During Thursday’s rally, the group met with lawmakers Andre Rosiade of Gerindra and Rieke Diah Pitaloka of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to formally present the demands.
“We will immediately send the documents to the House leadership,” Andre said. “We’d like to underline once again that the House is open to criticism.”
On Wednesday, following a meeting with representatives from student groups, House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the student groups voiced demands similar to those of the 17+8 campaign.
