rusuh

Rusuh is a term used in Indonesian and Malay to describe a violent disturbance, riot, or severe unrest. It is commonly found in media reports and everyday speech to refer to episodes where crowds become violent, causing property damage, clashes with police, and potential injuries. In formal reporting, kerusuhan is often used as the standard word for riot, while rusuh appears more in headlines or informal contexts.

The word functions as both a noun and a descriptor, as in “terjadi rusuh” (riots occurred) or “aksi rusuh” (violent acts). Its usage spans political protests, social disturbances, and other situations where crowd violence disrupts public order. The term does not by itself specify the scale or motivation of the violence, which may range from spontaneous clashes to planned attacks.

Typical features associated with rusuh include vandalism, arson, looting, and clashes with security forces, sometimes resulting in injuries or casualties. The phenomenon is often discussed in relation to public order, safety, and governance, with authorities sometimes responding through dispersal actions, curfews, or investigations and legal proceedings against participants.

Etymology and related terms: rusuh is part of the Malay-Indonesian lexicon and is closely linked to other terms describing disorder, such as kerusuhan (riot) and keonaran (anarchy). It is distinct in nuance from peaceful demonstrations (demonstrasi) and is used to convey the shift from protest to disorder within a given event.