Student demonstrations against programs of the Prabowo administration are not a threat. They should be welcomed.
In the eyes of President Prabowo Subianto, criticism is seen more as a threat than constructive input. Instead of viewing it as a correction in the interests of the public, he sees it as maneuvering by defeated opponents to disrupt his government. With this kind of logic, opposition is not a part of democracy, but a disruptive influence that needs to be eliminated.
There were repeated student demonstrations in a number of regions throughout June 2026. Students criticized the free nutritious meals program, claiming it uses huge sums of state funding without proper management. They also highlighted increasingly chaotic government, rife with overlapping authority and increasingly taking on a militaristic appearance.
But Prabowo's response just shows his unease. When meeting with fishers and farmers in Gorontalo on June 24, 2026, he claimed the student demonstrations were funded by parties hostile to the government. Two days later, in front of thousands of higher education leaders in Jakarta, he said that students should not take to the streets to protest national policies. It is as if democracy were something to only be practiced every five years, at the ballot box.
This point of view is completely at odds with the spirit of academic freedom that underlies higher education. Demonstrations are one way for citizens of a state to participate and are a manifestation of service to the people. When it seems that the way to channel these aspirations has been closed off, demonstrations are a constitutional way for the people to express disquiet.
Similar views are being expressed by the president's aides. Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said that campuses should provide solutions, not support demonstrations. Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology Fauzan even met with the leaders of Muhammadiyah Universities to ask that students not take to the streets. It is as if universities should just stick to research, while criticism must be confined to libraries.
This offensive stance from the government reflects its concerns about the student movement. History shows that students are often the driving force behind change. The 1966 movement accelerated the fall of Sukarno's Old Order regime, while the 1998 demonstrations ended Suharto's 32 years in power. But studying history should not make the government afraid of students. Rather, it should be more open to listening to them.
The impression of paranoia was apparent in the series of demonstrations in June. Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University students detained a Yogyakarta police intelligence officer who was in the middle of the demonstration on June 17, 2026. In a number of regions, demonstrators have come up against civil groups supporting the government, including elements of the Ministry of Defense Reserves Component. The presence of these opposing groups only reinforces the impression that criticism is being treated as a security threat, not a sign of democracy.
This type of strategy risks causing divisions in society. When students who criticize the government come up against groups mobilized to support it, it is difficult to avoid the impression that there is an attempt to set people against each other. The government should not be spending time categorizing people as supporters or disruptors.
Prabowo is the president of a democratic nation, not a commander on the battlefield. His military background should not be used as an excuse for command style politics in government. A statesman does not respond to criticism with suspicion, but with arguments, policy improvements and a readiness to listen. A self-confident government never fears the voice of students.
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