BEM UI: Reformasi Is Dead
BEM UI—the Badan Eksekutif Mahasiswa Universitas Indonesia—staged a symbolic protest at the Makara Monument on the Depok campus on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. In the demonstration, they declared that Reformasi has died.
From around 5:00 pm WIB, a number of students gathered around the Makara Monument’s Putaran. They carried banners bearing the slogans ‘Reformasi Mati, Prabowo Happy’ and ‘Adili Prabowo dan Kroninya’. The crowd also prepared a replica grave with a tombstone reading ‘RIP Reformasi’.
Black-clad students, as a sign of mourning, covered the Makara Monument with a white cloth. The action formed part of a symbolic sequence they termed the ‘funeral of Reformasi’.
The organiser Hafidz Haernanda said the event was a statement of students’ attitude toward the current state of democracy. ‘We declare that Reformasi, which has long been fought for, is now dead,’ he said at the scene.
He added that the indicator of Reformasi’s ‘death’ could be seen in the failure to meet several demands long pursued by students and the public. ‘We see the Reformasi agenda has ended,’ he said.
Hafidz argued that the end of the Reformasi era opens the possibility of a new phase that could be more repressive. He said the present situation resembles the New Order era.
Nevertheless, he emphasised that the action was not meant to deny the struggles of students and people in 1998. The action, he said, serves as a reminder that the struggle can be continued. ‘We fought before, and in the future we can fight again,’ he said.
He also highlighted rampant corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) that he believes continue today, even worse than in the past. In addition, he pointed to a trend toward centralisation of power that runs counter to the spirit of regional autonomy.
Hafidz also criticised government policies, including awarding the title of national hero to Indonesia’s second president, Soeharto. He argued that this conflicts with the reformasi spirit that once opposed the New Order.
In the protest, students staged a simulated funeral ceremony for Reformasi. The white cloth covering the Makara Monument symbolised Reformasi’s clean beginnings. Over time, Hafidz said, the symbol changed. ‘The white cloth gradually became stained and damaged. In the next ceremony we will replace it with black,’ he said.