Indonesia Business Post
The recent wave of riots across Indonesia signals a breakdown of state authority, with the National Police (Polri) described as “paralyzed” and the government failing to exercise leadership, according to an analyst at the Singapore-based ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.
Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at the think tank, said the chaos was no longer a matter of demonstrations, but had escalated into full-scale riots amid the absence of decisive state action.
“Polri has been paralyzed by the mass actions, partly due to internal divisions. What we are seeing now is looting and arson being left unchecked. Last night [Monday night], there was even a police station set on fire without any intervention,” he told Indonesia Business Post on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
He said that the situation was spiraling beyond control. “This is no longer a protest. This is a riot. And riots stem from chaos. Chaos comes when there is no leadership to make state institutions function,” he noted.
Supriatma was blunt in his assessment of the government’s response under President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. “The country is leaderless. Prabowo-Gibran are not functioning as national leaders. They are not making any policies to address this rapidly escalating crisis,” he said.
Speculation over emergency measures such as martial law was moot. “Even if martial law is declared, it will be too late. The situation is already out of control. If the military intervenes too deeply, it could spark an even greater mass rebellion. Limited repression without overwhelming force will only strengthen the movement,” he added.
Supriatma also criticized the lack of clear command from the president over the police. “The orders have never been clear. Why hasn’t Prabowo taken over leadership of Polri? The police are directly under the president. He could dismiss the national police chief and order the force to act,” he said.
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