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Semarang students reported to police after criticizing minister
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Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Mohamad Nasir recently delivers a lecture at Borneo Tarakan University, North Kalimantan. (Courtesy of the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry/File)
T
he University of Semarang (Unnes) in Central Java has reported two of its students to police for committing satire after they criticized Technology, Research and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir by granting him a bogus award.
The students, identified as Julio Belnanda Harianja and Harist Achmad Mizaki, uploaded a picture of an award described as being "for the ministry for hurting the principle of a Single Tuition for Higher Education (UKT)."
The university's law and human resources division reported the students to the police, accusing them of violating the 2017 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.
Read also: Man arrested for allegedly hacking Indonesian Press Council website
The university stated it was worried the students' action could damage the reputation of the institution and its rector Fathur Rokhman.
However, Fathur said the university did not report the students to the police to restrict their freedom of expression and speech. He added that the university had warned the students about social media posts.
"If they are sure they're innocent, they should not be afraid of the report," Fathur said on Monday as quoted by Tribunnews.com.
He added the university would always be open to criticism "as long as it is based on valid analysis and data." (bbs)
