Student Organisations Deny Involvement in 'BEM Bersatu' Alliance

A number of student organisations from various universities have responded to the emergence of the ‘BEM Bersatu’ (United Student Executive Boards) alliance. The alliance came to public attention after accusing former Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Student Executive Board (BEM) Chair Tiyo Ardianto of being part of a political network behind his actions.

The BEM Bersatu alliance consists of students claiming to represent BEMs at several campuses. Among them are Wildan Ricky as Chair of BEM Faculty of Law Unisia, Muhammad Yani from BEM Faculty of Law UIJ, Ardi Zulkifly Chair of BEM FISIP Unas, Ardiansyah Chair of BEM Institut Al-Aqidah, Ahmad Ghazy from BEM Psychology UNJ, and Alfi Chair of BEM FEB Unpam. Also included are students claiming to be Chair of BEM Law UIC Rahmat Djimbula, Dicky from BEM FIPS Unindra, Ahmad from BEM Faculty of Engineering and Informatics at Bina Sarana Informatika University, and Rezky Anandar from BEM Faculty of Social Sciences and Administrative Management at STIAMI Institute.

In its statement, BEM Bersatu alleged that the car used by Tiyo was registered under the name of Siti Nuraini, the younger sibling of retired Lieutenant General TNI Setyo Sularso. The retired general is said to be the in-law of retired General TNI Andhika Perkasa, a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and a member of Ganjar Pranowo’s campaign team for the 2024 presidential election. The alliance also highlighted a planned ‘National Dialogue’ agenda scheduled to take place at a hotel in Bandung on Thursday, 18 June 2026, which was to be attended by Tiyo Ardianto, Setyo Sularso, and other figures.

The BEM Faculty of Engineering and Informatics at Bina Sarana Informatika University stated that it never attended or sent representatives to the alliance. The organisation asserted that it has no board member, member, or chair named Ahmad as claimed by the alliance. ‘BEM FTI UBSI never gave a mandate to any party to represent the organisation in the said activity,’ the statement read on their Instagram account @bemftiubsi on Wednesday, 17 June 2026.

BEM Faculty of Psychology UNJ also denied sending a representative named Ahmad Ghazy to the alliance. They stated that their organisation’s identity had been misappropriated and that the action was considered a breach of ethics. Ahmad Ghazy, according to BEM FPSI UNJ, is an alumnus from the 2020 cohort and is not part of the current board or membership. ‘The actions and views conveyed are the personal responsibility of the individual concerned,’ they said on their Instagram account @bemfpsiunj.

Another denial came from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Unas regarding the involvement of Ardy Zulkifly, who claimed to be the chair of that organisation. In its official statement, the faculty stated that it does not have a faculty-level BEM organisation. FISIP Unas stated that Ardy Zulkifly’s presence in the BEM Bersatu alliance is a personal responsibility. ‘(He) does not have the institutional capacity to represent FISIP Universitas Nasional based on the said position,’ the statement read.

Responding to the allegations from the BEM Bersatu alliance, Tiyo Ardianto chose to focus on the student movement overseeing government policies. He did not wish to respond to matters that were merely personal accusations.

PDI-P spokesperson Guntur Romli also denied the allegations. He stated that Siti Nuraini and Setyo Sularso, who were linked to the vehicle ownership, are neither cadres nor administrators of the party. ‘Connecting the ownership of a civilian’s vehicle, then drawing it to a sibling relationship, and then further drawing it to an in-law relationship to jump to the conclusion that PDI-P is behind the student action is a clear fallacy,’ he said in a statement on Wednesday, 17 June 2026. He asserted that the party led by Megawati Soekarnoputri has no connection to the action rejecting the Free Nutritious Meals project. ‘That is a baseless slander, absurd, and injures the integrity of the student moral movement,’ Guntur said.

He also stated that the dialogue forum scheduled to be attended by Tiyo Ardianto and Setyo Sularso was not organised by PDI-P. Guntur said the presence of figures at a dialogue forum is a constitutional right of citizens and cannot simply be claimed as political party mobilisation towards a student movement. According to Guntur, the accusation by the BEM Bersatu alliance that the student movement was allegedly being ridden by a political party has insulted the critical reasoning and independence of the movement. ‘Students move because of their conscience and critical analysis of state policies that are felt to affect the lives of the people,’ he said.