Jumhur Hidayat, Labour Movement Figure Now Environment Minister
Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat has been officially inaugurated as the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Indonesia, replacing Hanif Faisol Nurofiq.
The man born in Bandung on 18 February 1968 is known as a labour movement figure.
As the General Chairman of the Confederation of All Indonesian Workers’ Unions (KSPSI), he began his higher education at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
During his university years, he was recognised as one of the leaders of the student movement that openly opposed the policies of the New Order military regime, including protesting the seizure of land from poor farmers.
Due to his role in leading those demonstrations, Jumhur was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison in 1989.
After completing his sentence in 1992, he continued his undergraduate (S-1) studies in Physics Engineering at the National University.
In 2013, Jumhur successfully completed his Master’s (S-2) in Sociology at the University of Indonesia.
Jumhur was also active in international solidarity. In June 1989, he was involved in protest actions supporting the Chinese student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
He also led demonstrations at the Myanmar Embassy as a form of protest against the military regime’s actions towards student activists in that country.
Beyond movement activities, Jumhur has managerial experience in government. In 2007, the sixth President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, appointed him as Head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), now known as BP2MI.
As head of that non-ministerial government agency, one of his main focuses was eradicating human trafficking syndicates and protecting the rights of Indonesian migrant workers.
After completing his government service, Jumhur refocused on empowering micro, small enterprises, and the labour sector.
He founded several labour organisations until he was elected to lead KSPSI, Indonesia’s largest and oldest workers’ union organisation.
In 2020, Jumhur faced legal proceedings again. His firm stance in leading opposition to the Omnibus Law on Job Creation, deemed detrimental to workers and indigenous communities, resulted in his detention.
He was subsequently sentenced to 10 months in prison related to a case of spreading hoax news about the Job Creation Law via Twitter.
In his capacity as a labour and democracy figure, Jumhur routinely represented Indonesia at various international forums, including as a delegate at the International Labour Conference (ILC-ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland (2005 and 2024), guest of the Hong Kong SAR Government (1998) post-integration with China, and invitation from the United States Government (1999) regarding federal state systems, speaker at The United States-Indonesia Society forum in Washington DC (1999) discussing political transition and Indonesia’s economic future.
He was also a special speaker on contemporary political economy before multinational executives in Singapore, organised by the International Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS), participant in the “Alternative Development Strategies in Southeast Asia” training (Kuala Lumpur, 1992), “Winning Parties through Democratic Principles” (Manila, 1996), and “Strengthening Workers’ Unions Development” by ILO-Norway (Indonesia, 2000).
As a researcher and activist, Jumhur is also active in writing and publishing several books on politics and law, including Menggugat Rezim Anti Demokrasi (1990), Jujur Terhadap Habibie (1999), Surat-Surat dari Penjara (2000), Manifesto Kekuatan Ketiga: Mengobarkan Asas Nasionalisme Kerakyatan Menuju Indonesia Raya (2002), Bumiputera Menggugat 2022 Pikiran-Pikiran dari Penjara (in the process of publication).