Residents of Southeast Asia are supporting the protests of Indonesian couriers by paying for the order they are offering to leave with the driver.
The BBC writes about this.
Anti-government protests erupted in Indonesia in late August due to dissatisfaction with the government. Current President Prabowo Subianto has created the largest cabinet in the country’s history, strengthened the role of the military, as well as the state’s influence on business, and effectively eliminated the opposition in parliament.
And when lawmakers approved new benefits (which included a monthly housing allowance of almost 10 times the minimum monthly wage in Jakarta), outraged citizens took to the streets.
On the evening of August 28, when police dispersed demonstrators, courier Affan Kurniawan died. According to Bloomberg, the 21-year-old was driving a motorcycle taxi delivering food and got stuck in a crowd of protesters.
He dropped his cellphone and knelt down to pick it up. At that moment, an armored police car crashed into the boy, crushing him with its front wheels. As the crowd rushed the car, the policeman stepped on the gas pedal and ran over his body. Affan was rushed to a Jakarta hospital, but he did not survive.
The incident was caught on video and quickly spread across group chats and social media. At least 10 people died in the demonstrations, but the young courier’s death sparked further protests that spread to nearly a dozen major cities. Students and other Indonesians gathered outside parliament and police headquarters in Jakarta to protest, throwing rocks at the gates and chanting “Murderer.”
The protesters were not stopped by statements from the country’s President Prabowo, who called for calm, expressed condolences over the boy’s death, and ordered a thorough investigation.
National Police spokesman Abdul Karim told reporters that authorities will detain seven police officers who were in the car that hit the courier for 20 days for violating ethical standards.
Hundreds of other motorcycle riders attended the funeral of the deceased and accompanied his body to the burial site in a convoy of two-wheeled vehicles through central Jakarta.
Meanwhile, residents of neighboring Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand have decided to support Indonesian couriers by using popular food ordering apps in Indonesia. Under the hashtag #SEAblings, social media users have posted instructions on how to help: place food orders on Grab and Gojek in Indonesia and tell the couriers that they can keep the food for themselves or give it to their family and friends.
Some Indonesian couriers have expressed their gratitude on social media. In one viral video, a man cried as he thanked a Singaporean donor who ordered food for him: “Many roads are closed, many restaurants are closed, schools are closed, offices are closed, and our orders are coming in very slowly. But I am very touched because it turns out there are still many good people who care about us.”
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