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plan by the academic senate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) to award President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono an honorary doctorate degree in information technology has sparked protests among students and alumni.

The protesters said Tuesday that awarding the degree was politi-cally motivated, as it would be conducted just ahead of this year's general elections.

Miftakh Faridl, an academic senator at the institute's design and arts school, disclosed earlier that the decision to present the degree was taken during a meeting on Jan. 16, 2009. The meeting was attended by 30 of 51 members and led by the chairman of the academic senate, Yanuarsyah Haroen.

A debate occurred at the beginning of the meeting, Miftakh said, adding that many wanted to wait until after the general elections to award the degree, for fear of accusations that ITB was taking a political position.

The presentation of the degree is scheduled to be held during the commemoration of ITB's 50th anniversary on March 2-3, 2009.

"Those who opposed the plan did not necessarily oppose the presentation of the award, but rather it's timing, because they feared it would be manipulated *by certain parties* ahead of the general elections," Miftakh told The Jakarta Post in Bandung on Tuesday.

The decision to present the award now was voted on, while the idea for the presentation was raised by ITB Rector Djoko Santoso two years ago, Miftakh said.

"We went through a long and arduous discussion at the senate, and another lengthy deliberation with a special team in charge of studying the President's achievement in information technology enhancement in Indonesia," he said.

Miftakh was of the opinion that presenting an honorary doctorate degree was an ordinary affair. Yudhoyono has previously received a Master of Arts degree from

Webster University in Missouri, the United States, and was also awarded a doctorate in agricul- tural economy from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in 2004.

He also received an honorary doctorate degree from Keio University in Japan.

However, text messages opposing the plan had already spread among ITB alumni by the end of January 2009.

"After years of maintaining independence, the senate finally falls after the institute's professors hope they can be chosen as one of the ministers," one of the messages read.

Teuku Gandawan Xasir, head of the special project department of ITB alumni, said he was not informed of the criteria that ITB used to award honorary doctorates.

"What are the criteria? Whether it matches with SBY? Can each man who matches get the award or must there be a certain interest? It should have been transparent; don't make excuses," Gandawan, who graduated from ITB's Geophysics and Meteorology School in 1989, said, referring to the President.

ITB students were shocked with the plan. They demanded that the rector delay the plan, to distance ITB and also the President from any negative issues linked to the general elections.

Sahna Fatimah, president of ITB's student family with a membership of 15,000, said that the plan was made too quickly because they had never heard of it earlier at any representation meetings with the academic senate.