Student organizations deny involvement with 'BEM Bersatu' alliance

An alliance calling itself BEM Bersatu has emerged, making accusations about political connections involving Tiyo Ardianto, a former student leader from Gadjah Mada University. The alliance claims the vehicle used by Ardianto is registered to the sister of retired Lieutenant General Setyo Sularso, who is reportedly connected to the family of General Andika Perkasa, a figure in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and part of Ganjar Pranowo's presidential campaign team.

BEM Bersatu also highlighted a planned "National Dialogue on Nationhood" event in Bandung, which they stated would be attended by Ardianto, Setyo Sularso, and other prominent figures. The alliance's claims have prompted swift denials from several university student organizations.

The student body of the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics at Bina Sarana Informatika University (UBSI) has explicitly stated they have never attended or sent representatives to the BEM Bersatu alliance. They emphasized that they have no officials, members, or a chairman named Ahmad, as claimed by BEM Bersatu, and have not authorized anyone to represent them.

Similarly, the Student Executive Board of the Psychology Faculty at Jakarta State University (UNJ) denied sending any representative named Ahmad Ghazy to the alliance, stating their organization's identity had been misused and that Ghazy, an alumnus from 2020, is not a current member. The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at National University (Unas) also distanced itself from Ardy Zulkifly, who claimed to be the head of their student organization, stating that no faculty-level BEM exists and that Zulkifly's participation was a personal matter, not representing the institution.