Police Law Continues to Face Student Rejection, Mahfud MD: It's Understandable as There's No Change

Constitutional law expert and member of the Police Reform Acceleration Commission, Prof. Mahfud MD, considers the student protests rejecting the Police Law to be a natural response. According to him, the fundamental issues within the police force that have been under public scrutiny have yet to show any meaningful change. “Students have the right to express that (rejecting the Police Law), because indeed there has been no change,” Mahfud told reporters after a book launch event in Yogyakarta on Thursday (25/6/2026). Mahfud stated that he had been pessimistic from the start about the prospects for significant change through the police reform agenda. He even admitted that he had predicted the recommendations compiled by the reform team would not be fully followed up by the government. Despite this, Mahfud still accepted the offer to join the Police Reform Acceleration Commission. He did not want to be accused of only criticising from the outside without being willing to engage directly in the process of improving the institution. “If I didn’t want to (join), I would be accused of all sorts of things. They’d say, Mr Mahfud just talks, but when asked to join, he refuses. So I joined,” he said.