Defence Ministry Denies Deploying Civil Servant Reserve Component During BEM UI Protest

The Ministry of Defence (Kemhan) has denied accusations that the Civil Servant Reserve Component (Komcad ASN) was deployed to oversee a demonstration by the University of Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM UI) at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on Friday, 12 June. Head of the Defence Information Bureau, Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, stressed that the Komcad ASN readiness assembly held that day had no connection to the security operation for the student protest. “The activity was unrelated to the student demonstration taking place on the same day,” Rico stated on Monday, 15 June. According to Rico, the ministry did not assign any Komcad ASN personnel to secure the protest or carry out public order functions. He emphasised that the assembly conducted within the ministry was a routine agenda. “Not a single Komcad ASN personnel was deployed to secure the action or undertake public order duties,” he said. Rico explained that the Komcad ASN readiness assembly had been planned well before the BEM UI demonstration. The activity was part of an evaluation of personnel readiness following Basic Military Training (Latsarmil). “The activity was planned beforehand to ensure the readiness of Komcad personnel in accordance with their functions and roles as stipulated in Law Number 23 of 2019 on the Management of National Resources for State Defence,” he clarified. The ministry’s explanation came after a letter regarding the implementation of the Komcad ASN readiness assembly circulated on social media. The document drew public attention because its timing coincided with the student demonstration in Jakarta. The letter, numbered B/752/VI/2026/BACADNAS and dated 11 June 2026, was issued by the National Reserve Agency (Bacadnas) of the Ministry of Defence. The letter requested ministry and agency officials to include Komcad personnel from the ASN element in the readiness assembly. It referenced Law Number 23 of 2019, Minister of Defence Regulation Number 3 of 2021 on the Formation, Designation, and Development of the Reserve Component, and a letter from the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform regarding ASN participation as a Reserve Component. The letter stated the assembly was scheduled for Friday, 12 June 2026, starting at 07.00 WIB at the Ministry of Defence office in Jakarta. Komcad participants were required to wear the Komcad field service uniform and beret, with the number of personnel specified in the letter’s attachment. Participation was specifically directed at male Komcad ASN personnel from each ministry and agency. The document was signed by 1,764 Komcad ASN participants from ministries and agencies who were sworn in and designated as a national defence component.