UGM Student Council Chair Seeks Protection from LPSK After Receiving Threats

The chair of the Student Executive Board (BEM) of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Tiyo Ardianto, has filed a request for protection with the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) after experiencing a series of threats.

The succession of threats has drawn attention from academics, rectorate officials, and civil society networks. Tiyo subsequently heeded suggestions that he report to LPSK for the safety of his family and friends.

“I have been in communication with LPSK,” Tiyo told Tempo on Monday, 16 February 2026.

Tiyo experienced repeated threats after criticising the government over a student suicide incident in East Nusa Tenggara. Beyond himself, the threats extended to his parents and 30 BEM officials after he protested the free nutritious meals (MBG) programme.

According to Tiyo, the content of the messages was identical. The sender included a photograph of Tiyo with a caption alleging that the UGM BEM chair had embezzled fundraising money intended for students receiving the Kartu Indonesia Pintar scholarship. After receiving the threats, Tiyo’s mother became anxious.

Tiyo denied that BEM UGM had misappropriated funds. He said it was an old issue deliberately weaponised by the perpetrators to attack him and BEM UGM.

Following the threats, he said he continued his activities as normal. On Friday, 13 February 2026, for instance, he was still able to deliver an oration at a Komunitas Suara Ibu Indonesia event at UGM’s roundabout alongside several academics and activists.

Tiyo received further threat information the day after the demonstration. A fellow student informed him that someone was targeting him for having protested the MBG programme. The individual threatened to kill him. Tiyo showed all the threatening messages.

Previously, he had received threats after protesting President Prabowo Subianto’s failure to guarantee children’s basic rights in the wake of a child’s suicide in East Nusa Tenggara.

LPSK Deputy Chair Sri Suparyati said the LPSK’s Yogyakarta representative office was communicating with Tiyo to identify the threats and determine protection needs. “LPSK can share the role with UGM,” she said.

UGM Vice-Rector for Student Affairs, Community Service, and Alumni, Arie Sujito, affirmed that UGM was paying close attention and had convened a meeting to respond to the threats against Tiyo. Terror that creates fear and repression in a democratic state, according to Arie, must not be allowed to occur. On behalf of the institution and the constitution, UGM is obliged to protect all members of its academic community.

He said that if there are differences of opinion, understanding, or interests, they should be resolved through dialogue. “Academic institutions have a moral responsibility to safeguard democracy and uphold the right to expression,” Arie said via WhatsApp message on Monday, 16 February 2026.

Masduki, founder of Forum Cik Di Tiro, a civil society movement in Yogyakarta, urged UGM to take a public and more progressive stance in protecting Tiyo. The threats against Tiyo, according to Masduki, constitute an attack on academic autonomy and the integrity of higher education. An open stance from the university is necessary to preserve academic freedom. If the university fails to take a firm position, it could undermine the campus’s critical voice.

“It is disciplining to make campuses comply with irrational government policies,” he said.

Masduki believed the threats were connected to the growing anti-criticism stance of the Prabowo-Gibran administration. The threats cannot be separated from Prabowo’s authoritarian and militaristic governance. In a democratic state, the government should listen to students’ input, which comes from conscience in response to various injustices. The government could reassess MBG by providing scholarships for impoverished students in disadvantaged regions instead.

Herlambang P. Wiratraman, a constitutional law lecturer at UGM’s Faculty of Law, condemned the threats. Herlambang praised BEM UGM’s efforts in nurturing and maintaining criticism as a response to paradoxical realities. An example of such a paradox is the government’s failure to set humanitarian priorities. BEM UGM highlighted the irony of the government being able to contribute Rp 16.7 trillion to a Board of Peace established by United States President Donald Trump, whilst a child took their own life for lacking Rp 10,000 to buy a pen and notebook for school.

“Their criticism is a legitimate form of expression,” Herlambang said.