JAKARTA - Mulawarman University (Unmul) in Samarinda, South Kalimantan, has clarified that a painting depicting the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) symbol found on Campus 2 of the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) is a teaching aid for academic purposes.
"This is not related to any banned ideological movement, but is simply a teaching aid for the history of Indonesian democracy," said Prof. Moh Bahzar, Vice Rector III for Student Affairs and Alumni at Unmul, in Samarinda on Tuesday, as reported by Antara.
He explained that the painting was lecture material for students from the History Education Study Program.
"It was purely for history learning. Students are studying the political constellation during the era of President Sukarno, when several major political parties existed, including the PKI," said Prof. Bahzar.
According to Bahzar, the rectorate has summoned the relevant study program for information. The results confirmed that the image was created as a visualization to facilitate students' understanding of Indonesian political history, with various political party symbols from that era being displayed as part of the study material.
Professor Bahzar guaranteed that the discovery had no connection to the spread of communism or terrorist activities within the academic environment.
He emphasized that studying history requires students to objectively understand various past events, including the political parties that once existed in Indonesia.
"The university guarantees that this has nothing to do with banned movements. This is purely academic, because history students must learn about everything that happened in the past, from the Old Order era to the Reformation," he emphasized.
Previously, the painting bearing the PKI symbol was discovered and confiscated by police during a raid on a building on the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Mulawarman University (Unmul).
The discovery coincided with the confiscation of 27 Molotov cocktails the night before a demonstration scheduled for September 1, 2025.
In the Molotov cocktail case, police have identified four students as suspected assemblers.
The university has handed over the handling of the Molotov bomb case to the police, while ensuring that academic activities, particularly those related to history learning, continue to run according to scientific standards.
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