August 31, 2025 | 02:23 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan was killed in the midst of a protest in Jakarta on Thursday, August 28, 2025, when he was run over by a tactical police vehicle from the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) of the Indonesian National Police. Following this incident, many people have condemned the police actions on social media by using the term ACAB and creating the hashtag PolisiPembunuhRakyat (PoliceMurderers) in X.
During a meeting with Affan Kurniawan's family at RSCM (Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital), the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo expressed his apologies for the incident. "Of course, I apologize to the entire motorcycle taxi (ojol) community and the public for the tragedy and the incident that occurred," he said to reporters.
Toll gate at Pejompongan near the MPR/DPR/DPD building in Jakarta was on fire on August 29, 2025. The fire was visible at the Pejompongan tollgate at around 9:10 PM WIB when demonstrators were rallying in front of the DPR complex. Tempo/M. Taufan Rengganis
The Meaning of ACAB
ACAB is an acronym in English that stands for the phrase "all cops are bastards."
The current trend of using ACAB on social media is also accompanied by the use of the number 1312 to condemn police violence. The sequence 1312 is a numerical representation of the acronym ACAB. This means that the number 1 represents the letter A, the number 2 represents B, and the number 3 represents C.
ACAB and the number 1312 are often seen during demonstrations or protests. Usually, these expressions are used to communicate disappointment and anger over the arbitrary actions of the police force in Western countries.
The History of ACAB
According to GQ, the exact origins of the use of the codes 1312 and ACAB in demonstrations are not known. However, several sources believe that the terms originated from England during the large-scale labor strikes in the 1940s. At that time, ACAB referred to the mining work that was considered highly exploitative of laborers.
Furthermore, GQ mentioned that there were several video clips from 1958 showing young people and workers using the term in their demonstrations. The peak in the popularity of the phrase ACAB is estimated to have occurred in the 1970s when the Daily Mirror used the term as its headline. The newspaper reported the arrest of a young person by the police after sewing the term on their jacket.
Indonesian Military Forces (TNI) stand guard in front of the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on August 30, 2025. Tempo/Amston Probel
ACAB in the Modern World
The phrase ACAB has become increasingly popular and is synonymous with the punk subculture, a youth movement known for challenging authoritarian government systems and established societal structures through music and eccentric clothing.
This subculture also popularized ACAB through graffiti art in various streets, from New York to Indonesia. As a result, the phrase ACAB is now commonly used by younger generations to express their grievances against the police, the government, and any actions involving violence and oppression.
Dinda Shabrina and Achmad Hanif Imaduddin contributed to the writing of this article.
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