Indonesia’s river of discontent runs deep

The protests rocking Indonesia are about more than housing perks or food inflation.

A protester setting fire to the gate of the regional Parliament building during a protest in Bandung, in Indonesia’s West Java province, on Sept 1.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Ravi Velloor

Indonesia’s week-long protests that

in Jakarta and elsewhere is the sort of nightmare that South-east Asia’s largest nation can live without.

The aftershocks have barely ended; Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the respected finance minister, has had to go,

as the leadership looks for scapegoats for a series of mis-steps of their own doing, as well as wider forces at play.