Students Unhappy with Prabowo's Ministers' Answers at UGM Discussion

A public discussion forum titled ‘Kopdar Bareng Mas Dar’ with the theme ‘Pancasila as the Unifier of the Indonesian Nation’ at the Innovation and Creativity Arena (GIK) of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta ended in chaos on Monday evening, 15 June 2026. The event, organised by Total Politik, featured three state officials: Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency Nusron Wahid, Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency Budiman Sudjatmiko, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono. Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, who was originally scheduled to attend, was absent.

According to Tempo’s observations, the atmosphere of the academic forum, which initially proceeded smoothly and was attended by students, began to heat up after the speakers finished presenting their material around 8:30 p.m. Western Indonesian Time. During the session, Budiman Sudjatmiko, a former activist who now serves as Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency, invited participants to deliver criticism directly in the discussion room rather than on social media. ‘Please criticise us here, not on social media,’ Budiman said.

The situation escalated when several students levelled sharp criticism regarding the three officials’ suitability to discuss the theme of Pancasila amidst a pile of unresolved national issues. A fierce debate broke out, leading dozens of students to rush onto the stage to unfurl protest banners reading ‘UGM Rejects Reform Traitors’ and ‘UGM Rejects Regime Sycophants’. The situation inside the building became increasingly uncontrollable when the crowd threw bottled water at the speakers in the forum area, forcing the discussion to be halted immediately. To avoid further escalation, the organisers and security personnel evacuated the three state officials from the Joglo GIK UGM.

However, the evacuation was immediately hampered by hundreds of students who had surrounded the outside of the building and blocked the speakers’ vehicles. The emotional crowd continued to shout demands for the speakers to return and engage in an open dialogue. The crowd yelled, ‘Where is Budiman! He said he wanted a discussion!’ Responding to the pressure, Nusron Wahid and Sudaryono eventually agreed to come out and meet the students to continue the dialogue in front of the event venue. Meanwhile, Budiman Sudjatmiko was no longer visible, having allegedly escaped through the back door of the building.

During the open dialogue, a student questioned Nusron about his responsibility as Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency for the policy of converting hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in Papua, which was deemed to have displaced local indigenous communities. The students’ disappointment peaked when Nusron responded to the question by inviting them to visit Papua and see the facts on the ground themselves. The answer was considered to have not touched the substance of the problem. Just a few minutes later, Nusron and Sudaryono chose to rise from their seats and walk towards the UGM Roundabout and the campus’s south gate. Students who felt they were being avoided immediately tried to block the group’s movement using water barriers, triggering a fierce pushing and chasing action in the area.

Budiman’s escape without meeting the crowd left the students disappointed. ‘Budiman, who once participated in demonstrations, actually ran away, what a traitor, a coward,’ the crowd shouted. The Chair of the UGM Student Union, Mesa, asserted that the action occurred because the speakers were deemed unwilling to face the questions posed by students regarding agrarian issues and development policies during the Prabowo-Gibran administration. ‘The chase happened because they avoided the students. We would not have chased them if they had answered just one question from us: whether they are guilty or not,’ he said. Mesa added that the students were merely trying to seek clarity on the Prabowo-Gibran administration’s policies through its cabinet, which have a direct impact on the seizure of people’s land. However, the officials instead deflected with counter-questions and felt they were not at fault. ‘That is the consequence of being a public official. If we are considered evil, rioting, or whatever, the issues we are voicing are actually far greater because there are many people whose land has been seized,’ he said. Despite being tightly blocked by the student barricade, the group of officials eventually managed to break through the crowd under tight police escort.