Chronology of Former UGM BEM Chair Finding Tracking Device in His Car

Tiyo Ardianto had just finished participating in the Gejayan Memanggil demonstration with students and civil society groups in Yogyakarta on Saturday, 13 June 2026. That day, the former Chair of the Student Executive Board (BEM) of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) was travelling by car. Tiyo said that since feeling less safe while travelling, he had borrowed his sibling’s car as his means of transport. Mid-journey after the action, Tiyo received an unusual notification on his device. “A tracking device called PBX Finder was detected moving along with me,” Tiyo said upon checking the notification. Tiyo then got out of the car to search for the tracking device. Shortly after, he found one PBX Finder unit under the frame of the black car’s body. Tiyo then communicated with several people close to him. They advised him to submerge the tracking device in water. “I don’t know who installed that tracking device,” he said. He suspected he had been followed by an unknown person. The UGM undergraduate Philosophy student considered the suspected tracking by an unknown individual to be unusual. He highlighted the regime’s method of frequently terrorising people who criticise government policies. Later, Tiyo received news from his colleagues at BEM UGM who were also being harassed through messages from unknown senders. Tiyo said dozens of messages had been received by his friends from the same number since 13 June. “It hasn’t been fully tallied yet, but likely around 30,” he said. He deplored the use of terror and intimidation tactics to suppress members of the public who are vocally critical. Yet, Tiyo argued, criticism from civil society is aimed at improving the nation. Such criticism, Tiyo continued, is carried out on the basis of sincere love for the homeland. However, he said this concern is instead met with threats and danger. He analogised criticism as medicine for a government currently afflicted by illness due to policies that are not pro-people. “How dangerous it is to be an Indonesian who loves their nation. We give medicine for its illnesses, but it instead tries to poison us,” he said.