00:00And shifting focus to Indonesia, the streets of the capital of Jakarta turned into something
00:04straight out of a real-life Manga Monday. Now, hundreds of protesters, some of them waving
00:11flags of the Japanese manga series One Piece, clashed with the police. Now, what sparked the
00:17unrest? It was the lavish pay and perks enjoyed by Indonesia's lawmakers, an issue that has struck
00:24a chord with youngsters in the country. Authorities deployed over 1,000 extra security
00:31personnel, including officers in undercover clothing, ready to make arrests. Streets leading
00:39to the parliament were blocked, yet the protesters managed to jump over fences in their attempt
00:45to breach the parliament fences. And they also hurled rocks at the police. Riot police responded
00:52with tear gas and with water cannons, trying to push back the crowd away from parliament.
01:00Smoke swirled through Jakarta's streets as protesters, clad in dark clothing, set off fireworks.
01:07Chants for salary cuts also rang out loud as protesters criticized what they call corrupt
01:14elites and the policies favoring the politicians. They highlighted that parliamentarians earn up
01:22to 100 million rupiah a month, or over 6,000 US dollars, with almost 50 million rupiah, or over
01:303,000 US dollars, going just to housing allowances. Now, that's almost 10 times Indonesia's minimum
01:39wage. The government defends these allowances, saying that they reflect the high cost of living
01:45in Jakarta. Protesters, however, see it as a symbol of deep inequality. And these demonstrations aren't
01:54isolated to Jakarta. In recent weeks, central Java and Sulawesi have also seen violent protests triggered by
02:03issues such as property tax hikes. Now, reports say the sudden surge in unrest reflects a new level of anger
02:12and widespread dissent toward President Subianto's administration. Now, this comes despite his efforts
02:20to fight malnutrition, including massive budgets for free school meals and expanded public health
02:27programs, policies that President Subianto has projected as central to his governance agenda. But they have
02:37also faced criticism in recent months over faulty implementation, especially due to hundreds of
02:44cases of food poisoning linked to the flagship free school meals. With protests spreading from Jakarta to
02:53central Java, the big question remains, will the government listen to citizens' anger, or will the unrest
03:00continue to escalate?
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