Riot police fired tear gas and watercannon at hundreds of protesters who attempted to storm parliament today.
Some of the protesters threw rocks and bottles, launched fireworks at officers and set small fires.
No information about arrests or injuries has emerged.
Students and others initially marched on nearby streets to demand a pay cut for members of parliament, who according to a recent bombshell media report earn as much as the equivalent of $6,150 per month including housing allowances, vastly more than the average income.
Demonstrators also denounced high-level corruption among government elites, business conglomerates and the military.
The latter’s role in commerce has grown under President Prabowo Subianto, a former general.
In anticipation of trouble today, authorities deployed 1,200 police near parliament.
Demonstrations are common and sometimes turn violent.
Personnel should give wide berth to all street protests, which in Jakarta tend to occur near major government buildings in the vicinity of the National Monument (MONAS) in Merdaka Square and in isolated cases affect the upscale hotel, office, diplomatic and shopping area running to the Hotel Indonesia/Selamat Datang Monument traffic circle.
