Another Asian country is now in the throes of Gen Z protests

Thousands of people have protested in the Asian country of East Timor against the government's decision to buy luxury cars for lawmakers for free. In the face of strong protests, the East Timorese government has canceled the plan to provide free cars to MPs. Timor-Leste is the official name of the country.

According to a BBC report, thousands of protesters took to the streets on Tuesday (September 16) and burned tires. At that time, they set fire to a government vehicle. Police fired tear gas to disperse them. A few hours after the protest, the country's government canceled the decision to buy cars for MPs.

Despite the cancellation of the car purchase plan, many people protested in the country's capital, Delhi, on Wednesday. A protester told the BBC that about a thousand people took to the streets of the capital, Delhi, on Wednesday. Although the movement initially started around the government's plan to buy cars for MPs, the protesters later raised a variety of other demands. Their protest has now taken the form of a demand to cancel the lifetime pension benefits of former MPs.

A student who participated in the protest, who did not want to be named, told the BBC that he was tear gassed in front of his university. Expressing his anger, he said that the people are suffering, while MPs are desperate to buy luxury cars.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the annual basic salary of East Timorese MPs is 36,000 US dollars, which is 12 times higher than the country's average income (about 3,000 dollars).

However, the plan to buy cars for MPs in the country is not new. Residents have been protesting regularly against the plan to buy government cars for MPs in the country for the past few years. In 2008, police arrested several students for protesting a plan to buy cars for the country's MPs at a cost of $ 1 million.

Cesario Cesar, who led the protest, said, "People are in many problems. Education, water, sanitation - there are not enough facilities for anything. But MPs are making laws for their own benefit. We don't think it's fair.'

He said MPs currently have government-issued cars and they are still in good condition. The government still plans to give them new Toyota Prado SUVs.

According to the United Nations, more than 70 percent of East Timor's population is under the age of 35. Despite being one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, East Timor is considered a relatively democratic country.

Just a week ago, the Alo government was ousted from power in the Asian country of Nepal by the youth-led Gen Z movement.