Indonesian Student Group Vows Larger Protest Despite Mediation

The Executive Student Body of Bung Karno University (BEM UBK) has declared that mediation with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka will not deter their plans for a larger demonstration. Muhammad Abdi Maludin, head of BEM UBK's Law Faculty, stated that a bigger protest was already planned before Gibran invited them for mediation.

"If our demands are not met within 5x24 hours after the meeting, we will take to the streets in even greater numbers," Abdi said on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. He claimed the mediation was merely an effort to ensure student and public aspirations were heard by the government, but it does not invalidate BEM UBK's ongoing struggle.

BEM UBK submitted a memorandum to Gibran during a closed-door meeting on Monday, June 15, 2026. The memorandum, a result of internal student research, outlines four clusters of demands. These include a moratorium and audit of MBG projects, reallocation of MBG funds to higher education subsidies for free and progressive education, a legislative review of the newly passed Police Law, and central authority intervention to stabilize the rupiah.

Students also urged the government to immediately cancel the increase in non-subsidized fuel prices, citing its detrimental effect on public purchasing power. "There is no end to the struggle. BEM UBK will take to the streets again soon," Abdi asserted. The Vice Presidential Secretariat's acting secretary, Al Muktabar, stated that the students' concerns would be considered by Gibran for follow-up, within the limits of his authority and existing laws.