UBK Suspends Law Faculty Student Chair After Bribery Scandal in 'Rearrange Indonesia' Protest

Bung Karno University (UBK) has decided to suspend the student status of Muhammad Abdimaludin, Chairman of the UBK Faculty of Law Student Executive Board (BEM FH), following his admission of receiving bribes during the ‘Tata Ulang Indonesia’ (Rearrange Indonesia) demonstration. Vice Rector III Daniel Panda stated that the suspension was enacted after the rectorate received Abdi’s direct confession regarding the acceptance of Rp 20 million. The money was received by members of the BEM UBK leadership. “In accordance with the Rector’s statement, today we have suspended the individual concerned,” Daniel said during a press conference at the UBK campus in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 23 June 2026. He added that with this status, all of Abdi’s activities no longer represent BEM UBK or the university until the official investigation process is declared complete. Daniel explained that during the investigation, UBK will summon and examine a number of witnesses and parties suspected of involvement in the alleged bribery case related to the BEM UBK demonstration on 15 June. “We will crosscheck the BEM FH, FE (Faculty of Economics) executives, and several other students again, including witnesses and individuals involved in this process,” Daniel said. Based on Abdi’s confession, he added, the bribe money was provided by an individual who is an alumnus of UBK’s Faculty of Law through police officers. The alumnus requested that BEM UBK not hold a demonstration in the State Palace area. In return, the alumnus would provide Rp 20 million if BEM UBK agreed to move the protest location to the front of the DPR, MPR, and DPD Complex. However, this request was rejected. BEM UBK still held the demonstration in the Patung Kuda (Horse Statue) area. “But the money was still received by them,” Daniel said. “The money was given in the early hours before the demonstration was held.” Previously, a video clip surfaced on social media showing the confession of the UBK BEM FH Chairman Muhammad Abdimaludin admitting to receiving bribes during the ‘Tata Ulang Indonesia’ demonstration. He stated that the money had been used for personal needs and also distributed to UBK alumni, members of the BEM FH UBK leadership, and BEM FE UBK executives. “Rp 2.5 million to two alumni, Rp 2 million to my deputy, 2 million to Mubarak, and 2 million to BEM FE UBK,” he said. During the ‘Tata Ulang Indonesia’ demonstration, BEM UBK accepted an invitation for a closed-door mediation with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The mediation was held at the Vice Presidential Palace with 15 UBK student representatives present. The mediation, which lasted about 60 minutes, discussed, among other things, the controversy surrounding the MBG (Free Nutritious Meals) project and the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperatives). BEM UBK also issued an ultimatum to Gibran, stating that if their demands were not met, they would hold multiple rounds of follow-up demonstrations within 5x24 hours.