Student Protests Over Economic Issues in Indonesia

On the streets of central Jakarta,

hundreds of university students gathered to protest against what they say is

the government's mismanagement of the economy.

Indonesia's economy growth exists only on paper.

At the dinner table, people are struggling because the prices of basic goods and

fuel keep rising.

Electricity is becoming less reliable,

job opportunities are shrinking, while taxes continue to

increase for low and middle income earners.

Student protests have also been held in other major cities around the

broader theme of concerns about the economy and some of the government's policies,

including its free meal program,

which aims to deliver a free daily lunch to millions of children and pregnant women.

But the program, which has a budget of 15 billion this year,

has been marred recently by allegations of corruption and incidents of mass

food poisonings.

In June, meanwhile, Indonesia's currency,

the rupiah, slid to a record low,

in part because of market pressures created by the Iran war.

Even before the conflict, the rupiah was losing value,

which economists have attributed to concerns

about fiscal credibility and excessive government spending.

That's resulted in some staple food items, including soybeans,

becoming more expensive.

A low salary is still not enough to cover daily living expenses.

In Jakarta, living costs can reach between 300 and 450 per month.

If the salary is below that, what can we really do?

In June, Indonesian state firm Pertamina raised some fuel prices by more than

30 percent, marking its first increase since the Iran war began,

a major point of discontent for the student protesters.

The price of subsidized fuel, however, remains unchanged.

The budget for energy subsidies aimed at keeping electricity,

fuel and gas affordable for low income households has grown

by billions of dollars this year because of the impact of the war.

This week, some

student protesters were invited to meet Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

The government says it's listening to public opinion,

including the student protests.

It says that the increase in fuel prices is the result of global

factors and stressed that its policies, like the free meal program,

are for people's benefit.

Jessica Washington, Al Jazeera, Jakarta.