President Prabowo Again Asks Journalists to Leave During Speech to University Rectors

President Prabowo Subianto delivered a speech at the closing of the Science, Technology, and Industry Convention in Jakarta on Sunday, 28 June 2026. During the event, which was attended by thousands of academics, Prabowo declared that his speaking session was closed to journalists.

Prabowo had initially spoken for around 20 minutes with reporters present, discussing various government policies and his expectations for the academic world. After completing the initial part of his speech, he was informed by an assistant that journalists were still in the room. The former Defence Minister then requested that the journalists leave the hall before he continued his address.

The Gerindra Party chairman invited the journalists to have coffee outside. “With respect, I invite the journalists to have coffee,” Prabowo said.

The Science, Technology, and Industry Convention (KSTI) took place from Friday to Sunday, 26-28 June 2026. The President attended both the opening and closing ceremonies of the event, which invited 2,600 academics, including professors, deans, and rectors.

During the opening of KSTI 2026 on Friday, Prabowo delivered a briefing lasting nearly five hours to the academics. The briefing was held openly starting around 4 p.m. Western Indonesia Time at the Jakarta Convention Center. After speaking for 30 minutes, Prabowo also asked journalists to leave the room and continued his speech behind closed doors.

“With respect, I invite the journalists to have coffee outside. I am sure Mr. Brian (Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto) has prepared excellent coffee,” Prabowo said on Friday. He stated that he wanted to speak frankly with the academics in attendance and did not want the session to be covered by the media. “Journalists, with all due respect, the media, today I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with the professors,” he remarked.

The forum, titled “National Dialogue,” was part of the Indonesian Science, Technology, and Industry Convention. The event was organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology. The KSTI is an initiative of President Prabowo that was first held at the Bandung Institute of Technology in August 2025.