The students 'protests began in early February. When, on May 5, the Indonesian government began enacting the reforms requested by the International Monetary Fund, reforms which required higher transportation and electricity fees, increasing the economic burden on Indonesia's 200 million people, these pro tests began to give way to riots.
大學生自二月初即開始抗議行動，直到五月五日，印尼政府為落實國際貨幣基金主導的紓困方案，調漲油品、大眾運輸和用電費率，使得二億印尼人口的負擔更形沈重，抗爭遂演變為暴動。