Rocky Gerung's Laughter at the Palace
President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated six new officials under his leadership yesterday. There was an interesting moment during the inauguration ceremony, namely the presence of academic Rocky Gerung among the guests, who briefly interacted directly with President Prabowo.
The inauguration of ministers to agency heads took place at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday (27/4/2026). After the inauguration, Prabowo shook hands with the six new officials and their companions. Here is the list of the inaugurated figures:
Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat as Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency
Hanif Faisol Nurofiq as Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs
Dudung Abdurachman as Head of the Presidential Staff
Muhammad Qodari as Head of the Government Communication Agency
Hasan Nasbi as Special Presidential Advisor for Communication
Abdul Kadir Karding as Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency
After shaking hands with the newly inaugurated officials, Prabowo was seen greeting academic Rocky Gerung and Great Institute Board Director Syahganda Nainggolan. Prabowo appeared to smile while shaking hands with both.
They were seen chatting briefly. Rocky and Syahganda appeared to laugh while speaking with Prabowo.
Rocky and Syahganda attended as guests at the inauguration. It is known that Jumhur, who was inaugurated as Minister of Environment, is the General Chairman of the All-Indonesian Confederation of Trade Unions (KSPSI) and Chairman of the Great Institute Advisory Board.
So, what did Prabowo and Rocky discuss on that occasion? Here is the overview.
After the inauguration, Rocky Gerung revealed his conversation with Prabowo. Without revealing details, Rocky Gerung only mentioned that he was referred to as still being a dissident by Prabowo.
“Well, basically. With Mr Prabowo, I shook hands earlier, and Mr Prabowo is a friend from past discussions. And he said, ‘Wow, Mr Rocky, thank you for coming, and it turns out Mr Rocky is still a dissident’, like that,” said Rocky after the inauguration at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, on Monday (27/4/2026).
Rocky noted Prabowo’s joking facial expression when mentioning him as a dissident. He then admitted that he indeed is a dissident.
According to the KBBI, a dissident is someone who disagrees with someone’s or a group’s opinion.
“But you see his face, it’s a joking face. Indeed, I am a dissident,” he stated.
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya was involved in a friendly moment with academic Rocky Gerung and Great Institute Board Chairman Syahganda Nainggolan. This friendly moment occurred during the intervals of the official inauguration agenda at the State Palace, Jakarta.
The closeness was evident before the inauguration began. Rocky Gerung and Syahganda initially appeared to chat with Jumhur Hidayat, who was also inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto as Minister of Environment (LH).
Then, Cabinet Secretary Teddy approached. Teddy shook hands with Syahganda Nainggolan and Rocky Gerung. They then chatted amicably and laughed.
Rocky Gerung said he was invited to the Palace to witness Jumhur Hidayat’s inauguration as minister. He stated that Jumhur’s entry signals the cabinet will be effective with the inclusion of a former inmate.
“Yes, as a representative of civil society, I was invited to witness, and also as a marker that the cabinet becomes effective with figures who are former prisoners,” he said.
“Jumhur Hidayat is a former political prisoner, but he is an intellectual, he studied labour, economy, environment from ITB. So because I know him, I accompanied him. That’s why I’m here,” he continued.
Furthermore, Rocky revealed his conversation with Teddy. He spoke about Teddy’s leadership through body language.
“Well, I talked with the Cabinet Secretary about ethics of care and ethics of rights. Ethics of care means psychologically showing leadership through body language. Not through the body, but through body language,” he said.
“Now, our body language has two; spoken body language and hidden body language. I told Mr Teddy that he is able to distinguish when to display spoken body language, and when to keep the psychological body language for momentum,” he added.