Budiman Sudjatmiko Regrets UGM Discussion Ending in Chaos

Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency (BP Taskin) Budiman Sudjatmiko has expressed regret over the termination of a discussion event at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, on Monday evening. According to him, the forum, which should have been a space for exchanging ideas, was forced to end early after the situation inside the room became heated. “We should have been able to have a healthy and smooth dialogue. I was willing to discuss with the students. But unfortunately, the conditions were no longer conducive,” Budiman said in a statement after the event. Budiman stated that he actually had no objection to remaining inside the building and meeting the students. However, security personnel decided to evacuate him due to concerns the situation would become increasingly uncontrollable. The event, titled ‘Kopdar Bareng Mas Dar’, featured Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency Nusron Wahid, and Budiman Sudjatmiko as speakers. At the start of the discussion, Sudaryono explained the government’s rationale for preparing a single-window export scheme. He said the policy was necessary to close various loopholes that have caused state losses due to discrepancies in export and import reports. Sudaryono noted that the unsynchronised reporting practices between domestic data and destination countries have been ongoing for decades. He assessed this condition as one of the reasons President Prabowo Subianto is pushing for more centralised export governance. Subsequently, Nusron Wahid conveyed his belief that various government programmes are still capable of improving public welfare. He was also optimistic that Indonesia could face the ongoing global economic challenges. The discussion initially proceeded in an orderly manner. The attending students appeared to be listening to the speakers’ presentations and following the event calmly. The situation began to change when Budiman took his turn to speak. In his presentation, he asserted that the government would not stifle freedom of expression through disgraceful methods. The statement was made in response to a widely discussed polemic regarding alleged intimidation against Tio, the former president of the UGM Student Executive Board. Shortly after the statement was delivered, a group of people in the back stands began moving towards the stage. Budiman briefly opened a dialogue space and waited for participants who wished to express their opinions directly. However, the number of people climbing onto the stage continued to grow. The situation then heated up, marked by pushing and shouting. The late-arriving crowd also became involved in shoving matches with security officers guarding the speakers. As the situation was deemed increasingly unconducive, security personnel eventually evacuated Budiman through a side door of the building. Nusron Wahid and Sudaryono were also evacuated after a number of students detained them to ask questions about Indonesia’s current condition. Budiman hopes that differences of opinion can still be conveyed through open and orderly dialogue. According to him, the campus should be a healthy space for the exchange of ideas between the government and students. “I myself actually had no objection to continuing to meet the students inside the building,” he said.