Trisakti Student Body Vows Further Protests if Situation Does Not Improve

Trisakti University Student President Dhenni Ribowo stated that students have not set a deadline for the DPR and government to meet their demands. BEM Trisakti will continue to monitor developments over the next one to two weeks. “However, if within a week or two there is no change or the situation worsens, the people will surely cry out on their own,” he said when contacted yesterday. If conditions do not improve, BEM Trisakti has not ruled out the possibility of staging another demonstration. “Yes (a demonstration),” he confirmed. Last Friday, a number of student groups held a protest in front of the DPR building. Students from BEM Trisakti, for instance, demanded national economic and political recovery, the eradication of incompetence among state officials, and the restoration of civil supremacy. Following the action, DPR leaders received representatives from HMI MPO, BEM Trisakti, BEM Esa Unggul, BEM Mercu Buana, and several other student groups. He said the DPR made promises to the students to help fulfil a number of demands. For example, the DPR pledged to resolve the scarcity of subsidised fuel. However, not all demands regarding civil supremacy were addressed. For instance, the students’ demand to resolve the issue of militarism in Papua, as highlighted in the documentary film ‘Pesta Babi’, has yet to receive a response. “There is no answer yet,” he said. Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad previously communicated with the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, during a meeting with students at the DPR building in Central Jakarta on Friday, 19 June 2026. Dasco’s communication with Nanik aimed to convey the students’ demand to temporarily halt the free nutritious meal programme (MBG). Deputy Speaker of the DPR Saan Mustopa said Dasco communicated with Nanik to report the students’ demands. Saan stated that the BGN is currently making budget savings on the MBG programme. Based on the BGN’s review, the savings amount to approximately Rp 70 trillion. “In the remaining time, there are governance savings of around Rp 70 trillion from the BGN’s review of inefficient MBG programmes,” he said at the DPR building on Friday, 19 June 2026. Saan said Dasco also communicated with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, regarding the students’ demands. The students identified a rise in fuel prices, such as Pertamax, and a scarcity of subsidised fuel. “Dasco communicated with the ESDM minister, and the students listened directly,” he said. Saan stated that Bahlil promised to meet subsidy needs and address the fuel shortage in the near future. Additionally, the students have asked the DPR to halt the legal proceedings against 15 Trisakti University students who were named suspects following a disturbance during a protest commemorating the 27th anniversary of the Reformasi Tragedy in front of the DKI Jakarta City Hall on 21 May 2025. Saan said the Chair of DPR Commission III, Habiburokhman, is currently communicating with the police to resolve the issue. “The two Mercu Buana students who were detained while on their way to the DPR have also been communicated about. Once this is settled, their release will be easy,” he said.