Indonesian students clash with police over protest on lavish politicians allowances

jakarta: riot police fired multiple rounds of tear gas at thousands of stone-throwing students attempting to reach parliament in indonesia's capital on monday to protest the lavish allowances of parliament members.the demonstrators were angered by reports that 580 members of the house of representatives have been receiving a housing allowance of 50 million rupiah (usd 3,075) per month since september 2024. protesters consider the allowances unjust given the economic hardship faced by most citizens.clashes broke out as police used tear gas to block the protesters from approaching parliament. students responded by throwing rocks and bottles at security forces and setting fires under a flyover near the heavily guarded compound.authorities blocked streets leading to parliament, including several toll roads, resulting in severe traffic jams across jakarta. over 1,200 security personnel were deployed to secure the area. there were no immediate reports of injuries from the clashes.the demonstrators are demanding the abolition of the allowances, which come on top of lawmakers' salaries. the housing benefit alone equals about 20 times the monthly minimum wage in poor regions.house speaker puan maharani defended the allowance on saturday, saying it was thoroughly considered and adjusted to current prices in jakarta.corruption remains widespread in indonesia, and activists say both police and lawmakers are perceived as being deeply corrupt in the country of more than 280 million people.