Surabaya – The Airlangga University (Unair) Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Student Executive Council (BEM) in Surabaya, East Java, has been frozen by the dean's office after making a satirical congratulatory message in the form a flower board marking the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
Unair BEM FISIP President Tuffahati Ullayyah Bachtiar said that they received an email from the dean's office informing them that the BEM had been frozen on Friday afternoon October 25.
"The flower board was a satirical work of art that aims to express disappointment over a series of phenomena that occurred during the [February] 2024 elections", said Bachtiar in an interview on Saturday October 26.
The flower board, which was placed in the Unair FISIP West Park on Tuesday October 22, read "Congratulations on the inauguration of the ruthless human rights violator general and the 2.3 IPK [Cumulative Achievement Index] Professor, as President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, who were born from the womb of an unlawful constitution", referring to human rights violations committed by Prabowo when he served in the military, Gibran's lower-second class university undergraduate score and the October 2023 Constitutional Court's ruling that allowed Gibran to run as a vice presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential elections.
The board also had a photo of Prabowo with the caption "TNI [Indonesian Military] General Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (Head of the Rose Team)" and a photo of Gibran with the caption "Fufufafa Admin", referring to a special team formed by then Lieutenant General Prabowo under the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) tasked with abducting pro-democracy activists in 1997-98 and the Fufufafa social media account allegedly belonging to Gibran which described Prabowo as a "sacked soldier" and a "divorcee" with a "effeminate son" and "radical supporters".
Bachtiar confirmed that photographs of the flower board went viral on social media, especially on X (Twitter) and TikTok, saying the public responded with pros and cons. He added however that students gave their support.
Bachtiar explained that initially the FISIP BEM received a summons from the head of the Unair FISIP ethics commission on Thursday evening October 24 with the agenda of clarifying the flower board.
On Friday morning, Bachtiar along with the Unair BEM FISIP Deputy and Minister of Politics and Strategic Studies fulfilled the summons by going to the ethics commission where they provided information about the flower board.
After the forum, on the same day at 4.13 pm, BEM received a letter by email signed by Unair FISIP Dean Professor Bagong Suyanto saying that BEM was frozen.
Bachtiar said BEM would not give up even though their activities were frozen and his cabinet would continue the struggle until his leadership period ended.
"Up until the notification was released, there has been no further discussion process with the FISIP dean regarding the notification letter suspending BEM. We have agreed not to give up on pursuing justice for all functionaries and continue the struggle for the period of outgoing [leadership] that has been determined", he said.
Bagong Suyanto has confirmed the suspension but claims he cannot comment on it yet because he will be holding a meeting with the FISIP BEM on Monday October 28. "Monday, yeah. After I've met with the FISIP BEM", Suyanto told CNN Indonesia.
According to the notification, the consideration behind the suspension was because of the use of the narrative on the flower board that was not in accordance with campus ethics and academic culture, and because the flower board that was placed on the grounds of the Unair FISIP without a permit or coordination with the faculty leadership.
Therefore Suyanto decided that as of today (Friday) the FISIP BEM management would be frozen and will now await the issuance of a follow up decree. (frd/tsa)
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "BEM Fisip Unair Dibekukan Dekanat, Diduga Terkait Karangan Bunga".]
