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Singaporeans order food to support Indonesian delivery riders amid protests

As protests continue in Indonesia, the nation’s delivery riders are receiving support from all over Southeast Asia, including Singapore, through the very app they work with.

App users are starting to sponsor meals for Indonesian riders, while also contributing to smaller businesses affected by the political turmoil.

One rider expressed his heartfelt gratitude on TikTok in a video that has garnered more than 200,000 likes and 6,000 comments in just over a day.

Source: @aktaasli on TikTok

Indonesian delivery rider moved to tears

TikTok user @aktaasli shared his reaction to the support in a tearful video on the social media platform.

“Today I feel happy and moved… It turns out there are many good people who care about us,” he said, adding that local orders have been few and far between, with road and restaurant closures.

He then showed a chat with a customer from Singapore, who wrote that they made the order for him and other drivers.

Source: @aktaasli on TikTok

“Singaporeans still care about us, the people of Indonesia,” wept the rider, who also said that there were multiple such orders that day.

Protests get violent

The support comes amidst economic and social unrest in Indonesia, which started on 25 Aug when thousands took to the streets to protest an increase in allowance for politicians.

They called for an end to the lavish benefits while ordinary people still suffer.

The protests have since escalated, with the use of tear gas and water cannons and the deaths of citizens.

On 28 Aug, a 21-year-old rider in Jakarta, who was on his way home from delivering an order, was killed when a police tactical vehicle drove over him.

The following day, a 26-year-old rider in Makassar was beaten by a mob that accused him of being an undercover intelligence officer.

International support rolls in

As things started to look bleak, several posts detailing how to place food orders to Indonesia from other countries began circulating on social media.

According to Voice of Indonesia, the online support for riders began on 30 Aug when X user @sighyam made a post telling others how to place orders to Indonesia.

Source: @sighyam on X

In the thread, the user gave tips on how to ensure that the order is clearly marked for riders.

They said to pick a hotel in Jakarta that is not located near a police station, and to include a message written in Bahasa Indonesia informing the rider.

One of the posts even warns against ordering pork and alcohol.

Source: @sighyam on X

The X thread received more than 62.2 million views in just two days.

Such tips were echoed by other social media pages as well.

Riders show gratitude for support

Many Indonesian riders have expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of support online.

One Indonesian netizen shared their gratitude for Malaysians sending support on the r/Malaysia subreddit.

Source: Reddit

“I want to say a big thank you to our Malaysian friends. Some Malaysians have been ordering GrabFood from Indonesian restaurants, whether it’s out of solidarity, to show support for Indonesians who are protesting, or just to give our ojek drivers some relief,” wrote the user.

“Whichever it is, it means a lot.”

Also read: Indonesian politicians’ homes looted & vandalised amid protests, 5 lawmakers suspended after controversial remarks

Indonesian politicians’ homes looted & vandalised amid protests, 5 lawmakers suspended after controversial remarks

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