Rivals Circle an Out-of-Touch Prabowo

A Jakarta protest over corruption turned violent after dark when police used tear gas and water cannons, and the unrest spread to the Slipi neighborhood, where trucks of men in white headbands armed with bamboo sticks appeared and assaulted bystanders. A 60-year-old shop vendor, Bambang Setiawan, died after being attacked while closing his store. Reports linked the attackers to GRIB Jaya, a group straddling gangsterism and politics with longstanding ties to President Prabowo Subianto, whose leader has publicly emphasized personal loyalty to the president and was received warmly by a top presidential aide as recently as March.

GRIB Jaya has admitted its members were present in the area but denies responsibility for the beatings, blaming protesters instead — including for Setiawan's death. The violence lands amid a collapse in Prabowo's approval rating, from 75 percent last December to 37 percent in August, driven largely by anger over prices and jobs. Former president Jokowi, whose endorsement helped elect Prabowo and who was later sidelined by him, has begun surfacing in critical media appearances, saying little but signaling he is no longer staying quiet.

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