Before Evacuation at UGM, Nusron Says He Must Listen to Public Complaints

Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Nusron Wahid, has asserted that he will be an official who continues to listen to public complaints. He stated that criticism and input from the community are an important part of efforts to improve the quality of public policy.

The statement was made during a discussion with students at the Joglo Gelanggang Inovasi dan Kreativitas (GIK) at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Sleman on Monday evening, before the event was disrupted by hundreds of students. The discussion was also attended by the Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency (BP Taskin), Budiman Sudjatmiko, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Sudaryono. The discussion ended with the speakers being expelled and evacuated.

“If an official serving the public interest is unwilling to be insulted, then that person has essentially failed to qualify as a public official. I want my policies to be better, so I must listen to the people’s complaints,” Nusron said in a statement on Tuesday.