How politicians defused the Asset Forfeiture Bill protest

Shortly after midnight on August 26, 2026, Supriyono of the United Pati People’s Alliance spoke with President Prabowo Subianto by phone. He used the mobile phone of House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad during a meeting with four House leaders in Jakarta.

Supriyono told the president that the planned protest by residents of Pati Regency, Central Java, expressed citizens’ aspirations. He also insisted that no group was directing or financing the movement. “No one was riding on our movement or financing it, not the Solo gang or any group in power,” he later told Tempo.

Supriyono promised that the protest, scheduled for August 27, would remain peaceful. A state official who attended the meeting said he also told Prabowo that the protesters wanted to help the government fight corruption. Their demands included passage of the Asset Forfeiture Bill and the death penalty for corruptors.

The talks continued into the early hours. Supriyono and 11 other alliance members briefed Dasco and three fellow deputy speakers about the situation facing Pati residents before the planned demonstration. House leadership later agreed to process the alliance’s demands concerning the bill’s ratification and punishment for corruptors.

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No one was riding on our movement or financing it, not the Solo gang or any group in power.