In recent days, widespread protests have erupted in Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. The reasons are always the same: the privileges of the political class and rampant corruption.
These are days of profound protest against corruption and the political class in Southeast Asia. The most widespread and violent unrest concerns Indonesia, after a new pay rise for members of parliament was approved at the end of August. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against the cost of living and to demand more adequate wages. The killing of a motorcycle-taxi driver by police during the protests has further heightened tensions. In the Philippines, the unrest broke out after an alleged bribery network was uncovered within government flood-control projects. In Malaysia, finally, the hasty and superficial manner in which the long-awaited anti-corruption law was passed has sparked protests from opposition parties and civil society.
In Indonesia, tensions began to rise from 25 August. Thousands of people took to the streets in the capital Jakarta to protest against an increase in economic benefits for members of parliament, whose salaries are approximately ten times the average wage in the country. At the centre of the demands, in particular, was a new housing bonus for parliamentarians worth around 3,000 dollars.
Indonesia has been living through a period of austerity and authoritarianism since power was taken in February 2024 by president Prabowo Subianto, who has close ties to the military. Over the course of the months, the country has seen severe cuts to health, education and schooling, while a law passed last March paved the way for the military to be hired into civilian sectors, including industry and agriculture.
Street protests erupted in response to new privileges for the political class, considered deeply corrupt, at a time of economic hardship for the population. During the demonstrations, grievances centred on the cost of living, while calls were made for wage increases and greater investment in social policies. Over the following days, the protests took on a very harsh tone, with buildings set on fire and violent repression by law enforcement and the army. The situation deteriorated on 28 August, when during the unrest an armoured military vehicle ran over and killed one of the protesters, 21-year-old motorcycle-taxi driver Affan Kurniawan.
From that moment on, the protests spread across all of Indonesia, despite president Subianto announcing the cancellation of the new housing bonus for parliamentarians. In Makassar, protesters set fire to the regional parliament building, and private properties belonging to government representatives were also targeted. Security forces responded brutally to the escalation and, between the clashes and the fires, at least six people have died, there have been over 400 injuries and more than 1,200 arrests. As reported by the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), in the first ten days of protests in Indonesia at least 20 people went missing, while the UN has called for an independent inquiry into the deaths of protesters.
The Philippines are also grappling these days with a series of protests against corruption and the political class. The issue concerns state flood-control projects and an alleged network of bribes.
A government audit revealed that, out of 545 billion pesos allocated since 2022, many projects lack documentation or simply do not exist, while 15 out of more than 2,000 accredited contractors — those with the strongest connections to the political establishment — collected 20 per cent of the total budget. Among the other findings was the fact that contractors held multiple companies that were often in competition with one another, meaning that the tendering processes involved were effectively sham competitions.
These revelations led civil society to call for an independent investigation, trials for corrupt officials, recovery of stolen funds and blacklisting of those involved. President Marcos promised the creation of an independent commission to criminally prosecute those responsible, but this did not prevent street protests. The offices of some of the companies involved in the scandal were attacked, with paint and mud daubed on walls and gates. A form of protest launched on social networks by younger generations has also spread across the country, known as "lifestyle policing". Images of conspicuous consumption posted on the private profiles of the children of politicians and executives of the companies involved in the scandal went viral, featuring luxury cars, trips to the other side of the world and designer clothing. Meanwhile, a major national anti-corruption mobilisation has been announced for 11 September.
At the beginning of September 2025, Malaysia also found itself at the centre of a heated political debate, following parliament's approval of a reform law focused on the public procurement sector. The text, conceived as a cornerstone of the Madani agenda, aimed to put an end to the widespread phenomenon of opaque contracts in procurement, by establishing the obligation of open public tenders, incentives for local businesses and green procurement, with severe penalties in cases of corruption.
Although the content of the law was broadly welcomed as a necessary step towards transparency, the legislative process drew criticism and protests from opposition parties and civil society. The debate was rushed, taking just one week and without any thorough scrutiny by the relevant parliamentary committee. Spontaneous demonstrations multiplied from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, from Johor Bahru to Ipoh, with protesters chanting slogans such as "Transparency starts with you" and "The people are not silent" — a symptom of a widespread sense of distrust towards the government and the political class.
This reaction is connected to the lasting fallout in the country from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) investment fund scandal, co-founded by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak with the help of financier Low Taek Jho. It is estimated that over 4.5 billion dollars were illegally siphoned off and used for luxury purchases, investments and bribes across several countries. Former prime minister Razak was accused of personally receiving hundreds of millions of dollars, and banks such as Goldman Sachs were also implicated. The 1MDB scandal, with its enormous diversion of public money for personal gain, was a massive shock in Malaysia's recent history. This is the backdrop to the intense pressure to enact an impeccable anti-corruption law — one that opposition parties and civil society did not see in the text approved in recent days.