An Indonesian staff member of an Asean parliamentary body has been fired and named a criminal suspect after allegedly posting a video urging protesters to set fire to the national police headquarters in Jakarta, amid escalating unrest triggered by a fatal accident involving a police armoured vehicle.
Laras Faizati Khairunnisa, 26, was arrested on Monday and detained a day later following a police investigation into her social media post, which authorities said had incited demonstrators to burn the building, located in South Jakarta.
Her video was posted on Sunday during unrest sparked by the death of a motorcycle‑taxi driver, who was run over by the police vehicle during a demonstration on August 28 against Indonesian parliamentarians’ generous housing allowances and soaring living costs.
The Secretariat of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly confirmed on Wednesday that Laras had been terminated for disciplinary reasons, calling her actions a personal expression that did not reflect the institution’s values.
“The Secretariat has imposed strong disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment. She is therefore no longer employed at the Secretariat,” the assembly’s Secretary General Siti Rozaimeriyanty Haji Abdul Rahman said in a statement.
The assembly, which serves as a platform for legislative dialogue among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is headquartered in Jakarta, where Laras had been employed in its Secretariat’s communications division.
