Student Alliance Protests at Jakarta's Horse Statue, Demands Public Dialogue with Government

A group of students under the banner of the Alliance of Indonesian Student Executive Councils (BEM) held a demonstration at the Patung Kuda area in Central Jakarta, demanding a dialogue with the government. Based on observations at the location on Friday (19/6/2026), the crowd was guided by a command vehicle and wore university blazers. The attending masses appeared to come from Ibnu Chaldun University, Jayabaya University, Bina Insani University, the College of Banking, Nahdlatul Ulama University, Asy-Syafiiyah Islamic University, Krisnadwipayana University, Jakarta Islamic University, PTIQ University, STAI Sadra, STAI Al-Hikmah, and Cendekia Abditama University.

‘We are also opening spaces for dialogue and discussion with government officials who wish to debate students directly in an open forum. We are openly transparent to the government. We also emphasise that there was a statement issued by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr Sudaryono, who said he would open a debate space for students. Therefore, we, the Alliance of Indonesian BEM, firmly challenge him to attend an open discussion forum,’ said Maulana Sai, a Jayabaya University student representing the Alliance of Indonesian BEM.

Maulana explained that his group is also demanding the government evaluate a number of its policies. They highlighted the need to review the budget usage of these programmes. ‘Secondly, we are also totally evaluating what are very populist government programmes, from the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme to the Red and White Working Cabinet and others. Because this is very strategic in nature and involves very large budget usage, we must evaluate it together,’ he said.

Previously, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono clarified an incident that occurred during a discussion agenda at the Innovation and Creativity Arena (GIK) of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta. He stated that he came to UGM with Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency Nusron Wahid and Budiman Sudjatmiko with the intention of engaging in an open and democratic dialogue with students. Based on a viral video circulating on social media, several students suddenly barged in shouting while Budiman Sudjatmiko was giving a statement. They also brought loudspeakers and sounded sirens to disrupt the discussion.

Sudaryono then explained the disruption caused by the students. He stressed that he and the other ministers came to UGM to engage in dialogue. ‘We came to UGM precisely to discuss. This event had been planned for a long time and had received permission from the university. This is also not the first activity of this kind,’ Sudaryono said in his statement on Tuesday (16/6). Sudaryono also apologised to the students who had attended with the intention of discussing but could not participate optimally due to the situation. ‘I apologise to the students who actually wanted to have a good dialogue. We are ready if invited again, whether in Yogyakarta or Jakarta. The important thing is that we discuss,’ he said. Concluding his statement, Sudaryono affirmed the government’s commitment to continue opening spaces for dialogue with all elements of society. ‘Based on love for the country, we are ready to dialogue with anyone. This is proof that the government is democratic and open to criticism and input,’ he concluded.