A gigantic Labubu, life-sized statues of Iron Man, Louis Vuitton bags, TV screens and a piano – these are some of the items looted from the home of an Indonesian politician who branded the ongoing protests ‘stupid’.

The Southeast Asia country has descended into chaos over an increase of lawmakers’ salaries, with demonstrations boiling over after the killing of a taxi driver who was hit by a police armored vehicle in the capital, Jakarta.

At least three people have been killed in a fire blamed on protesters at a regional parliament building in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province.

Rescuers retrieved three bodies on Saturday morning, and five people were hospitalized with burns or with multiple broken bones after jumping from the building, said Fadli Tahar, a local disaster official.

Parliamentary offices have been looted, as well as the mansion of Ahmad Sahroni, a member of the NasDem Party, Detik News reported.

Why are there protests in Indonesia?

Nationwide protests began in Jakarta on Monday after lawmakers backed a hike to their allowances.

In addition to their salaries, members of parliament will now benefit from a monthly housing stipend of 50 million rupiah (£2,263) – nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the capital and about 20 times the onein poor areas of the country.

A video from the parliament hearing showed them dancing in celebration, all the while Indonesia’s poverty rate stands at nearly 10%.

Critics argue the new allowance is not only excessive but also insensitive at a time when most Indonesians are grappling with soaring living costs and taxes, as well as rising unemployment.

The protests grew wider and more violent following the death of 21-year-old ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan in Jakarta on Thursday.

A video on social media, apparently showing his death, shocked the nation and spurred an outcry against the country’s security forces.

Kurniawan was reportedly completing a food delivery order when he was caught in the clash.

Witnesses told local television that the armored car from the National Police’s Mobile Brigade unit suddenly sped through the crowd of demonstrators and hit Kurniawan, causing him to fall.

Instead of stopping, the vehicle ran over him.

On Saturday, hundreds of ride-hailing drivers and students in Bali staged a solidarity demonstration over Kurniawan’s death in a rare protest on the tourist island.

They called for police reform and the release of those arrested during the demonstrations.

Protesters marched to Bali’s regional police headquarters and riot police fired rounds of tear gas at them to push back those who tried to reach the heavily guarded compound.

Clashes between riot police and protesters erupted in multiple cities across Indonesia on Friday, including in Medan, Solo, Yogyakarta, Magelang, Malang, Bengkulu, Pekanbaru and Manokwari in easternmost Papua region.

TikTok suspends live video feeds

In the light of the protests, the app, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, confirmed that it had suspended its live feature in Indonesia for several days.

The government had this week summoned representatives of social media platforms, including Meta Platforms Inc and TikTok, and told them to boost content moderation alleging that disinformation had spread online.

The government says that this has spurred the demonstrations against it – not the issues with the economy or the killing the the taxi driver.

What has Indonesia’s president done so far?

The protests are the first major test to president Prabowo Subianto nearly year-old government.

As the demonstrations spread outside Jakarta, he cancelled a planned trip to China.

The president had been due to attend a ‘Victory Day’ on Wednesday for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II following Japan’s surrender.

Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement: ‘The president wants to continue monitoring the protests directly…and seek the best solutions.

‘Therefore, the president apologizes to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation.’

Is it safe to travel to Indonesia right now?

The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of Indonesia – but most are area where there is volcanic activity, rather than connected to the protests.

Foreign embassies in Jakarta, including the US and Australia, have advised their citizens in Indonesia to avoid demonstration areas or large public gatherings.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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