Southeast Asia sends meals to Indonesian delivery riders as protests deepen

Meals and messages reach riders caught in unrest

A meal costing around 100,000 rupiah can feed an Indonesian delivery rider and their family. As protests disrupt work across Indonesian cities, people in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and elsewhere are using everyday delivery apps to send that help directly, along with drinks, supplies, tips and messages of solidarity.

The campaign has grown during unrest that began on August 25 over a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah, about US$3,075, for members of parliament. The allowance was close to ten times Jakarta's minimum wage, provoking anger at a time of rising prices, layoffs and tax changes.

Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, known as Komnas HAM, reported at least ten deaths linked to the unrest, including two delivery riders killed in separate incidents. Police have used tear gas and water cannons, while some crowds have damaged property, burned vehicles and attacked government offices.

Affan Kurniawan, 21, a Gojek rider, died after a police vehicle struck and ran over him in Jakarta on August 28. The following day, Grab rider Rusdamdiansyah, known as Dandi, was beaten to death by a mob in Makassar after being accused of being an undercover officer.

Both deaths have drawn attention to workers who continue making deliveries as roadblocks, crowds and clashes make earning a living more dangerous. Supporters abroad have responded by ordering meals for riders themselves, turning services normally used to buy dinner into a practical channel for help.

Social media users have shared instructions for changing app locations, choosing Indonesian restaurants and leaving notes telling riders to keep the food. Others have sent bottled water or first aid items, sometimes asking recipients to share with colleagues or relatives.

How an allowance dispute became a wider protest

The parliamentary housing allowance brought a sharp contrast into public view: lawmakers receiving 50 million rupiah each month for housing while ordinary households faced economic strain. Demonstrators initially took to the streets over that payment, then widened their demands to include police accountability and relief from higher living costs.

Affan's death during a clash near parliament in Jakarta intensified the protests. Students, drivers and rights advocates demanded justice and restraint from security forces. Demonstrations spread through Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Makassar, Medan, Yogyakarta, Solo and other cities.

Police fired tear gas and used water cannons during confrontations. Protesters threw objects, and some crowds set buildings and vehicles on fire. Malls closed early, trains were delayed and traffic stopped in parts of Jakarta and other affected cities.

The sequence of events unfolded over several days:

• August 25: Protests began over the housing allowance for members of parliament.
• August 28: Affan Kurniawan was struck and run over by a police vehicle in Jakarta while making a delivery, according to witness accounts and rights groups.
• August 29: Rusdamdiansyah, known as Dandi, was beaten to death in Makassar after a mob accused him of being an undercover officer.
• By September 2: People across Southeast Asia were sharing delivery orders and instructions for sending meals and supplies to Indonesian riders.

The disruption reached beyond the demonstrations themselves. Restaurants, offices and households depend on delivery workers, while riders depend on being able to move through the city. Closed roads and unsafe routes interrupted both sides of that relationship.

Two riders whose deaths drew public anger

Affan was working when the police vehicle hit him, according to witnesses and rights groups. His death became a rallying point for people demanding an investigation into police conduct, bringing the risks faced by delivery workers into the centre of the protests.

President Prabowo Subianto visited Affan's parents at their home in Jakarta, expressed condolences and ordered a thorough investigation. He said the state would support the family. Police later said seven officers had been detained on ethics grounds in connection with the incident and were being questioned.

Dandi's death in Makassar exposed another danger for workers moving through unsettled streets. A mob accused the Grab rider of being an undercover officer and beat him to death. Grab said its leadership met his family and offered support. Gojek leaders also met Affan's relatives.

The two men became symbols of how quickly ordinary workers could be caught in public turmoil. One was killed by a police vehicle while delivering an order; the other died after a crowd turned on him. Their families were left grieving as fellow riders continued to weigh the need to earn against the risks outside.

How the solidarity orders spread

A social media user based in Thailand, known as Yammi, helped the effort gather momentum by posting a guide showing how people outside Indonesia could place orders for riders inside the country. The posts attracted tens of millions of views.

Users in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines began sharing screenshots of meals and drinks they had sent. Malaysian participants were particularly active in circulating detailed instructions for selecting Indonesian cities and arranging suitable delivery locations.

Some supporters bought small gifts or practical supplies instead of a meal. Others asked riders to share food, water or first aid items with colleagues and family members. The orders offered immediate help during a period when roadblocks and unrest were squeezing daily earnings.

Indonesian social media users responded with gratitude. Many described a sense of regional kinship that appeared during difficult moments, despite the friendly online rivalries that often mark exchanges between neighbouring countries.

Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan thanked people across the region for their generosity and praised the sense of shared community. The campaign also spread beyond Southeast Asia, with people in South Korea, the United Kingdom and Austria placing small orders for Indonesian riders.

For the recipient, an incoming order could bring food for a shift or a meal to take home. For the sender, the same app used for an everyday purchase offered a way to help a stranger in another city or country.

The app features behind the help

Grab's cross border gifting feature, available since December 2021, allows customers to send gifts to recipients in other Southeast Asian markets. The company also introduced a Treat a driver option in its food app, allowing customers to buy a meal for the person delivering orders.

Gojek provides a similar Treat your driver feature through GoFood. These tools were designed as ways to show appreciation, but supporters used them during the unrest to direct food and other assistance to workers.

Social media guides also described changing an app's location to Jakarta, Surabaya or another Indonesian city, selecting a restaurant and entering a central delivery point. Supporters commonly suggested a mosque lobby or hotel front desk, with clear notes explaining that the rider should keep the order or share it.

Some guides recommended tips of up to 50,000 rupiah and five star ratings to help workers facing lost income. Orders of around 100,000 rupiah could provide food for a rider and their family, making a relatively modest purchase useful beyond the delivery itself.

The instructions gave people a practical route from sympathy to action. Choosing a local vendor could also spread the benefit to a small business affected by disruption.

Why disrupted streets quickly reduce earnings

Delivery riders are paid trip by trip. Their earnings depend on the number of orders they receive, the distance they travel and the time each journey takes. A blocked road can lengthen a delivery, while lower demand can leave a rider waiting without earning.

Protests affect all three parts of that calculation. Streets close, customers stay home and routes near crowds or police lines become hazardous. Many riders continue working because they need daily income, even when smoke, confrontations and sudden closures make journeys harder to judge.

Workers also pay for fuel, motorcycle maintenance and the devices they use to receive orders. Those costs remain part of the job during a difficult week. A meal or tip can ease an immediate expense while a rider's usual earnings are under pressure.

The unrest has brought more attention to longstanding calls from riders and labour advocates for safety standards, useful accident insurance and fairer platform commissions. A commission is the share of a fare that a platform keeps, reducing the amount left for the worker.

Meals and gifts provide immediate relief. Riders' demands focus on the conditions that determine whether their work is safe and whether they can predict what they will take home.

Driver groups press for changes to pay and rules

In Greater Jakarta, the Two Wheeled Movement Action, known locally as Garda, called on riders to deactivate their apps for a set period and gather for a protest. Organisers expected tens of thousands to participate.

Turning off the apps would temporarily remove riders from the pool available to accept bookings. Riders warned of service disruption if the action took place during peak hours, affecting the restaurants, offices and households that rely on them.

Garda set out five demands to the government and delivery platforms:

• Pass a law covering online transportation or issue an interim regulation.
• Reduce the commission on passenger trips from 20 percent to 10 percent.
• Establish clear tariff rules for food and goods deliveries.
• Audit platform practices.
• End paid membership schemes that promise priority access to orders.

The proposed commission change would halve the platform's percentage share of a passenger fare, from 20 percent to 10 percent. The separate demand for delivery tariffs concerns the rules used to price food and goods trips.

Platforms and officials had not immediately committed to the proposals, and no date for a decision was given. The demands reflect longstanding concerns about fairness, transparency and the income riders receive after platform charges and working costs.

Police conduct and government concessions face scrutiny

Komnas HAM's tally of at least ten deaths showed the human cost of unrest that had spread across several cities. Rights advocates and community leaders criticised heavy handed tactics and urged security forces to exercise restraint.

Police defended their actions as efforts to restore order while opening investigations into specific incidents. The detention of seven officers on ethics grounds in connection with Affan's death became one of the most closely watched responses.

Prabowo called for calm and promised accountability. Alongside his visit to Affan's family and order for an investigation, he announced steps to address anger over parliamentary benefits, including plans to revoke some allowances. The move did not end the protests.

Damage varied from city to city. Crowds confronted police near parliament and in central Jakarta. Demonstrators breached a government compound in Surabaya. Regional parliament buildings were burned in Bandung and Makassar, and vehicles were torched in some streets.

Local officials in several cities urged protesters to avoid late night gatherings because of fears that violence would intensify after dark. Many Indonesians recalled the trauma of past unrest and appealed for demonstrations to remain peaceful.

The government's response therefore faced several immediate demands at once: addressing anger over lawmakers' benefits, investigating deaths and restoring safety in streets where residents and workers still needed to travel.

Sending help without adding to the danger

Supporters circulating ordering guides urged people to choose calm, central delivery points and leave clear instructions. A mosque lobby or hotel entrance was commonly suggested, with a note telling the rider to keep the meal or share it with colleagues.

Participants advised against ordering to police posts or large protest sites, where riders could encounter danger or long delays. They also reminded senders to avoid alcohol and pork, and encouraged generous tips and five star ratings.

Local restaurants could benefit from these purchases alongside riders. A simple meal and drink offered help to a worker during a difficult shift, while an order large enough to share could reach family members or other drivers.

Longer lasting changes would involve decisions by government and platforms. Measures discussed in the debate include a dedicated online transportation law, transparent commissions and tariffs, and stronger complaint channels that drivers trust. Police training and accountability are also central concerns raised during the protests.

Platforms could provide clearer fee breakdowns, reliable support for drivers and temporary relief during unrest. Appreciation features make it easier to send a meal; income and safety policies shape whether riders can continue working through a disrupted week.

By September 2, the solidarity campaign had connected people across Southeast Asia and beyond with workers facing lost earnings and heightened danger. Each order met a small, immediate need, while demands for safer work, fair pay and accountability continued.

Key Points

• Indonesian protests began on August 25 over a monthly parliamentary housing allowance of 50 million rupiah, about US$3,075.
• Komnas HAM reported at least ten deaths linked to the unrest, including two delivery riders.
• Gojek rider Affan Kurniawan, 21, died in Jakarta on August 28 after a police vehicle struck and ran over him. Grab rider Rusdamdiansyah, known as Dandi, was killed by a mob in Makassar the next day.
• People in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and other countries sent meals, drinks, gifts and supplies through delivery apps.
• Grab's gifting and Treat a driver features, together with Gojek's Treat your driver option, helped people direct support to riders.
• Garda called for a temporary app shutdown and five changes, including reducing passenger trip commissions from 20 percent to 10 percent.
• Prabowo ordered an investigation into Affan's death and announced plans to revoke some parliamentary allowances. Police said seven officers were detained on ethics grounds.
• Supporters urged senders to choose calm delivery locations, avoid protest sites and leave clear instructions for riders to keep or share the food.