Academic freedom fears as new Indonesian president takes office

Academic freedom in Indonesia looks set to continue to decline under the leadership of a new president known for his authoritarian stance, scholars have warned.

Critics of former president Joko Widodo accused him of undermining democracy, and the country’s new leader, Prabowo Subianto, is expected to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps.

“Academic freedom in Indonesia has been worsening here from time to time, especially during Jokowi’s administration,” said Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman, assistant professor of constitutional law and human rights at Universitas Gadjah Mada and a member of the Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (Kika).

In 2023, the Indonesian government came under fire for suppressing academic research into environmental concerns, such as data suggesting that orangutans might be at risk.

The previous year, the rights group Scholars at Risk and Kika submitted a report to the United Nations outlining threats to academic freedom in the country, including the arrest of students for protesting peacefully and the targeting of academics.

Dr Wiratraman believes these attacks are likely to continue under Mr Prabowo’s leadership, while, he said, the new president’s alleged human rights abuses will create an “uneasy” situation for academics.

Mr Prabowo, a former general, who was sworn into office in October, has been accused of involvement in the abduction of student activists in the 1990s. While he has always denied the charges, he was previously banned from travelling to the US because of rights abuses. The ban was lifted in 2020 under Donald Trump’s leadership.

Iqra Anugrah, a research fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies at Leiden University, agreed that academic relations might “decline” further, but also said that Mr Prabowo “has a mixed view” of universities.

“On the one hand, he sees [them] as a site of major dissent against his political ascendancy and rule,” he said. “On the other hand, being an internationally oriented politician, he also sees the benefits of promoting research and innovation sectors for Indonesia’s global competitiveness, especially in economic and diplomatic arenas.”

This includes continuing to drive the internationalisation of Indonesia’s universities and promoting research. To oversee this, Mr Prabowo has appointed Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro as the minister for higher education, a well-regarded scientist who chaired the Indonesian Academy of Sciences from 2018 to 2023, separating the role from the Education Ministry.

Any democratic backslide under the new government is also likely to be resisted by student groups, some of whom held protests earlier this year to halt efforts by the former president to change the rules around regional elections, which they saw as an attempt to hold on to power. However, they too may face continued repression.

Leaders of Universitas Airlangga suspended a student council body in October after it criticised the new president, having described him as a “cruel human rights violating general”.

This situation, “whether due to political pressure or the faculty leadership’s own self-censorship, is a sign of a worrying trend [of what is] to come”, said Dr Anugrah.

“Just like what happened during the Jokowi presidency, the democratic spaces for student activism will continue to be under duress.”

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com