Vice President Gibran Meets with Protesting Students

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka met with representatives of a student group staging protests at several locations in Jakarta and received them at the Vice Presidential Palace on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan on Monday afternoon. A group of 15 representatives moved from the protest site to the Vice Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta at around 5 p.m. Western Indonesia Time. Acting Secretary to the Vice President Al Muktabar stated that the meeting between Vice President Gibran and the students discussed issues ranging from regional to national matters, which would be taken into consideration. “Naturally, within the limits of authority according to laws and regulations. In principle, because we are a country based on democracy and the rule of law, he greatly respects such matters,” Al said during a press briefing at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday. Meanwhile, Action Coordinator and Chair of the Student Executive Board of the Faculty of Law at UBK, M Abdi Maludin, said the Vice President noted the students’ demands. “The Vice President’s response was very good. He recorded the results of our demands for future improvement and evaluation of all irregularities in the country today,” he said. Among the matters conveyed to the Vice President by the student representatives, Abdi said, were the free nutritious meal programme, the weakening rupiah exchange rate, and the increase in non-subsidised fuel prices. The protest on Monday was attended by approximately 122 students from several universities. The protest was secured by joint personnel from the Metro Jaya Regional Police, Central Jakarta Resort Police, and local sector police. Central Jakarta Metro Resort Police Public Relations Section Head First Inspector Erlyn Sumantri said the student protest also took place in front of the House of Representatives building and on Jalan Kwitang Raya. Meanwhile, Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, which had been temporarily closed due to the protest, gradually began reopening at around 5 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.