BEM UBK: Mediation with Gibran Will Not Halt Further Demonstrations
The Bung Karno University Student Executive Board (BEM UBK) has stated that the mediation conducted with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka will not serve as a reason to halt plans for further demonstrations.
Chairman of the UBK Faculty of Law Student Executive Board, Muhammad Abdi Maludin, said that prior to accepting Gibran’s invitation for mediation, BEM UBK and its alliance already had plans to hold a demonstration on a larger scale. “If our demands are not met within 5x24 hours after the meeting, we will take to the streets in even greater numbers,” Abdi said on Tuesday, 16 June 2026.
He claimed that BEM UBK’s willingness to accept the mediation invitation with Gibran was merely one effort to ensure that the various aspirations of students and the public could truly be heard by the government. However, he stated that mediation with the government does not automatically delegitimise the direction of BEM UBK’s struggle, as the organisation continues to oversee and ensure that all demands are realised by the government.
“There is no such thing as an end to the struggle. BEM UBK will take to the streets in the near future,” Abdi said.
On Monday, 15 June 2026, representatives of BEM UBK and the alliance accepted the mediation invitation conveyed by Gibran at the Vice Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta. This closed-door mediation was attended by 15 student representatives and lasted more than 60 minutes.
Abdi explained that during the mediation, BEM UBK submitted a memorandum to Gibran. The memorandum is the result of the students’ internal study containing four clusters of demands.
First, the fiscal and education cluster. This cluster demands a moratorium and transparent audit of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) project. Second, a push to allocate the MBG budget to subsidise Single Tuition Fees (UKT) or higher education operational costs to realise free and progressive education.
The third point of the memorandum concerns the legal and civilian supremacy cluster. Students are demanding that local governments send official recommendations to the House of Representatives (DPR) to conduct a legislative review of the newly passed Polri Law.
In the monetary and energy cluster, students are urging central authorities to intervene to stabilise the rupiah. “We also demand that the government immediately cancel the policy of increasing non-subsidised fuel prices on the grounds that it is destroying the public’s purchasing power,” he said.
Acting Secretary to the Vice President, Al Muktabar, stated that all matters raised by the students during the mediation would be considered by Gibran for follow-up. “Of course, in accordance with the limits of authority and statutory regulations,” said Al Muktabar.