Students Refuse To Cut Education Budget And Revise The TNI Law, Polri And The Prosecutor's Office

JAKARTA - The Central Coordinator of the Indonesian Student Executive Board (Koorpus BEM SI) Kerakyatan, Satria Naufal, said the demonstration entitled Illicit Indonesia' demanded a number of issues. Among them are the rejection of cutting the education budget to the revision of the laws of the Prosecutor's Office, Police, and TNI.

"This action is a form of resistance to various government policies which are considered to be increasingly away from the principles of social justice, democracy, and people's welfare," said Satria in a written statement, Monday, February 17.

Regarding the education budget, continued Satria, cutting is considered by students to cause inequality of access and decrease in quality. In fact, this sector should be the most basic right for all people.

"Education is the fundamental right of every citizen. Cutting the education budget will only deepen the inequality of access to education and worsen the quality. In addition, students ask to evaluate problematic National Strategic Projects to reject the revision of the Minerba Law," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the revision of the law, including the Prosecutor's Law to the Police and the TNI, it should be canceled because it is considered to threaten the life of democracy and human rights. Satria said this possibility arose because there were indications that the institution was actually competing to ask for excessive authority.

He gave an example, through the revision of the Police Law, the police wanted to expand their authority so that they could control and block social media content. Meanwhile, in the plan to revise the Prosecutor's Law, the Prosecutor wants to strengthen his immunity rights.

"This immunity right has previously been regulated in the current Prosecutor's Law. The revision plan against various laws is dangerous and deviates from the principle of equality before the law because all citizens and state officials should not get the immunity," he explained.

"Meanwhile, the plan to revise the TNI Law will provide space for the military to re-enter law enforcement as it was in the past. In fact, until now the military has not complied with the general court and again this condition is very dangerous for democracy," continued Satria.

Satria also said that students highlighted the number of active members of the TNI and Polri who occupy civilian positions. "This clearly violates democracy and deviates from their main duties as regulated in the law," he concluded.