Jakarta. Thousands of university students who staged demonstrations across Jakarta on Friday night began dispersing peacefully after hours of protests criticizing President Prabowo Subianto’s government over rising living costs, state spending and controversial public programs.

By around 9:50 p.m. Jakarta time, crowds that had gathered near the Tosari area along Jalan Jenderal Sudirman in Central Jakarta were seen gradually leaving the protest site. Groups of students walked in an orderly manner toward the Semanggi district and Sudirman railway station, while some sang the patriotic song “Garuda Pancasila” during the march.

The protests, organized by the All-Indonesia Student Executive Body Alliance (BEM SI) and civil society groups, took place near the Higher Education Ministry, the National Monument, and Jakarta’s central business district around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Students from several universities, including UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Politeknik Negeri Jakarta, and UPN Veteran Jakarta, were seen dispersing simultaneously, while smaller groups remained near the Tosari bus stop and the General Sudirman statue late into the night.

Police maintained security and traffic control around the Sudirman-Thamrin corridor, with road barriers installed to redirect vehicles and ease congestion around the protest area.

Organizers estimated that around 3,000 protesters from universities across Greater Jakarta participated in the demonstrations, including students from the University of Indonesia and IPB University.

The demonstrators issued five key demands, including calls to reduce what they described as wasteful government spending, lower food and fuel prices, halt the government’s Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program and the Merah Putih Village Cooperative initiative, end militarization in civilian affairs, and encourage the government to acknowledge policy failures.

The protests come as Indonesia faces mounting fiscal pressure following a sharp increase in early-year state spending that widened the budget deficit to Rp 135.7 trillion. The rupiah has also weakened close to Rp 18,000 against the US dollar, prompting the government to tighten spending and the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate to 5.5%.

Fuel prices have also risen sharply. Pertamax gasoline prices increased by 32% this week to Rp 16,250 ($0.90) per liter amid higher global crude prices linked to the prolonged conflict involving Iran. Subsidized Pertalite fuel prices, however, remain unchanged.

Students also criticized the MBG program, a flagship initiative costing around Rp 268 trillion ($15 billion) this year aimed at reducing poverty and malnutrition. The criticism comes amid a widening corruption investigation into the program that has already implicated several officials and private-sector figures.

Friday’s demonstrations marked one of the largest student mobilizations since nationwide protests last August, when clashes between protesters and security forces left at least 13 people dead.

Despite road closures and traffic diversions in parts of central Jakarta, Friday night’s protests dispersed peacefully under police supervision.

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