Let’s call it what it is: Indonesia is becoming a predator state, and what’s most alarming is how normal this has become for its citizens.
We’re living in a system that treats people not as partners in development, but as fiscal commodities. The state has transformed from a shared home into a giant corporation that survives by taxing, regulating, and seizing assets—all in the name of law.
The Tax Trap
Taxes, meant to be tools of collective progress, have become instruments of exploitation. Ministry of Finance data shows Indonesia’s tax ratio hit 11.6% of GDP in first half 2025—the highest in a decade. But guess who’s paying? Not the conglomerates enjoying incentives, but regular people taxed on every daily transaction.
From cigarettes to phone credits, parking to electricity, digital transfers to basic goods—the state collects its share everywhere. An 11% VAT on every purchase, while wages stagnate, food prices explode, and living costs skyrocket.
Elite Feast Amid Public Struggle
While citizens struggle to afford Rp 15,000-per-kg rice, politicians celebrate budget parties. House members’ salaries, benefits, and facilities have doubled—all funded by taxpayer money. The fiscal morality of this nation is bankrupt.
Food inflation hit 3.75% in July 2025, the highest in a year. Consumer prices have jumped nearly 9% since 2022. Rice, sugar, and garlic prices have soared, with supply chains controlled by cartels living off import permits. Subsidized rice leaks to private traders; affordable cooking oil remains an empty slogan.
The Middle Class Squeeze
Indonesia’s middle class—once the economy’s backbone—is slowly collapsing. Home loans are defaulting, car payments are stalling, retail spending is dropping. A Bank Indonesia survey shows consumer confidence falling since early 2024, especially among those earning under Rp 5 million.
Yet official reports claim everything is “under control.” That’s how predator regimes work—they manage statistics while the social fabric rots beneath.
Land and Energy Grabs
It’s not just about prices and taxes. People are losing their living spaces. Family land, with taxes regularly paid, can be declared “neglected” after just two years unused. The Land Bank, created by the Omnibus Law, now decides who gets to live on their own land.
In energy, the greed is even more brutal. Fuel blending, oil imports, and industrial gas price manipulation have become rent-seeking goldmines. Every fuel price hike is called a “market adjustment,” but it’s really shifting corporate burdens to the public.
Small Businesses Abandoned
While MSMEs employ 97% of workers, they’re left to fight alone. Micro-loans carry interest above 12%, while conglomerates get investment credit under 6% from state banks. Public funds rescue elites, not support the people.
The Harsh Reality
Let’s be honest: Indonesia’s economy isn’t growing—it’s swelling. The 5% GDP growth is a statistical illusion hiding that 1% of population controls 60% of the economy. The Gini ratio sits at 0.39, with the top 10% holding over 70% of financial assets.
When the government claims poverty is falling, it’s because the poverty line is set at just Rp 609,000 monthly—about Rp 20,000 daily. With that number, the state claims a “decent life” costs a packet of rice and a glass of water.
The Way Forward
Like all failing nations, destruction comes from within: corrupt bureaucracy, greedy elites, and citizens who’ve been too patient. This country won’t collapse from bombs, but from taxes, prices, and policies that slowly kill hope.
Criticism is no longer an intellectual choice but a moral duty. Silence in the face of injustice is the quietest betrayal.
The predator state won’t stop until people refuse to be its prey. This awareness must emerge not from seminar rooms, but from kitchens, from empty shops, from farmers losing land, from fishermen who can’t sail, from workers whose wages vanish before month’s end.
When people realize they’re no longer citizens but victims of state policy—that’s when new history begins. And when that time comes, the challenge won’t be against just officials or parties, but against the entire economic architecture built on greed.
This republic doesn’t need growth without justice—it needs justice to grow.
Analysis by Lingkar Studi Data dan Informasi (LSDI). LSDI is a learning space and analytical center built on collective reasoning and collaborative energy, believing data should serve public decision-making, not propaganda.
