Anti-Prabowo banner in Indonesian university causes suspension, fuelling censorship fears

Surabaya’s Airlangga University initially suspended the trio from the student council of the social sciences and politics faculty over the banner but later bowed to public outrage and reversed its decision. The banner was displayed in front of the university campus on October 22, two days after Prabowo and Gibran were inaugurated in Jakarta.

The message on the banner reads: “Congratulations on the inauguration of ruthless general Prabowo Subianto and ‘Professor 2.3 GPA’ Gibran Rakabuming as President and vice-president of Indonesia, elected through a corrupted constitutional process. Signed Mulyono [Wrecker of democracy].”

Explaining the reason for the suspension on October 25, Bagong Suyanto, dean of the social sciences and politics faculty, told This Week in Asia on Monday morning: “The student council must adhere to academic standards, instead of stooping to coarse diction and language. That’s not the academic culture we want to cultivate. This is our message.”

But in a U-turn on the same day, Bagong spoke to This Week in Asia again and said he decided to reinstate the students but cautioned them against the use of “coarse language” and called for their “adherence to academic culture”.

During the initial suspension, Tuffahati Ullayyah Bachtiar, the student council’s president, told This Week In Asia that she and two other members were informed on October 25 that they were suspended indefinitely over what the dean’s office referred to as their “unethical behaviour”.