Boni Hargens: ILUNI Must Be A Laboratory For Ideas And Policy Advocacy

'FUN Chess FISIP UI Brothers' coincides with 80th Indonesian Independence Day at Aryaduta Hotel, Semanggi Jakarta, Sunday 17 August 2025 (Ist)

JAKARTA - Prospective Chairperson of the University of Indonesia Alumni Association (ILUNI), Boni Hargens held the chess competition 'FUN Chess FISIP UI Brothers' to coincide with the 80th Indonesian Independence Day at Aryaduta Hotel, Semanggi Jakarta, on Sunday 17 August.

In addition to honing the strategy, said Boni, this chess competition was carried out to strengthen brotherhood and unity between FISIP alumni as the theme of the 80th Indonesian Independence Day 'United, Sovereign, People of Prosperous, Advanced Indonesia'.

"This is actually caring for brotherhood among FISIP UI alumni who are our homes. So far, we have all been scattered everywhere because of work and all kinds of things. We are making the opportunity for us to stay in touch," said Boni Hargens on that occasion.

Boni explained the deepest philosophy of chess games. According to him, chess is not just a strategic problem, but also entanglement and cooperation. The reason is, the opponent's steps are very dependent on our steps, and vice versa. In addition, each piece has its own role, because it needs cooperation and mutual dependence on each other.

"The chess is not only a matter of strategy, but also a matter of attachment. The opponent's steps affect our steps, our steps affect the opponent's steps. This means that there is an entanglement between the two players, showing that all of us must be bound together, bound by brotherhood, by commitment to put forward public interests, not personal interests or groups," explained Boni.

On that occasion, Boni reiterated her commitment to highlight the function of ILUNI UI as a policy advocacy so that it would serve as a laboratory for ideas.

"So we establish Tower Iluni, we will have centers for policy analysis there, and we will advocate policies to the government. So if there are wrong policies, for example certain ministries issue policies that burden the people, we diagnose, this is a paradigm wrong policy, so we need alternatives. We give alternatives, the results of the UI ILUNI study," said Boni.

Boni also ensured that ILUNI UI would support and oversee the spectacular statement from President Prabowo Subianto to take firm action against illegal and corruption mines in every special BUMN agency. According to him, Prabowo's move will prevent leakage of the state budget and increase state revenue.

"If Mr. Prabowo talks about eradicating illegal looks, talking about SOE corruption, for us it is a big breakthrough. Because the potential for state revenue is indeed reduced due to the loss of potential state money due to corruption, illegal looks and so on," he said.

"In fact, if mining taxes, mines are official, they are optimized, state revenues increase taxes. Reduce illegal looks, strengthen official looks, then we collect taxes, that's where the potential for big state income is," Boni added.

Boni assessed that with President Prabowo's breakthrough and courage, the government no longer needs to issue policies that burden the people, such as increasing UN taxes to hundreds of percent in Pati, Semarang, Jombang, Cirebon and other areas.

"Well, this is the most visible and precise approach in context, namely re-managing mining management, killing all the root of the problem, namely illegal mining," concluded Boni Hargens.