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UNAS student reported to police after protesting against fee discount policy
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A student from the National University (UNAS) in South Jakarta has been reported to the police after protesting against the university’s fee discount policy earlier this month. (kompas.com/Anastasia Aulia)
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student from the National University (UNAS) in South Jakarta has been reported to the police after protesting against the university’s fee discount policy earlier this month.
Rasya Namadhania was part of a crowd that gathered outside the UNAS campus during a series of demonstrations held by UNAS students on June 10 to 12.
One of the students, Dendy, said the demonstrations were “solidarity events” for fellow students being questioned inside the campus for campaigning against the same issue online.
During the three-day rally, the university’s disciplinary commission summoned 27 students who had taken part in an online campaign that was considered “detrimental” to the reputation of UNAS.
“We don’t know who reported Rasya, but it was either the commission or the MPR [marketing and public relations]. They said she committed violence,” Dendy told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
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The incident occurred in late March after UNAS issued a rector’s decree and an MPR release stipulating that tuition fees would be discounted for 10,000 students, with each to receive Rp 100,000 (US$6.90) in assistance to cope with the impacts of the pandemic.
However, students protested that not all students had received the discount as the university had 13,477 active students, according to data they cited from the Research and Technology Ministry.
UNAS students criticized the university for budgeting only Rp 1 billion for the discounts and assistance, as it received Rp 76 billion from tuition fees per semester, according to data collected independently by the students.
“[We calculated] UNAS’ revenue from 10,209 students, but we have not calculated [the remaining students] as our investigation has been limited by UNAS’ lack of data transparency,” the students said in a recent statement.
They said they had also talked with lecturers and support staff and learned that the university had cut the salaries of permanent lecturers from Rp 5.6 million to Rp 4.5 million, while parking attendants who had been sent home no longer received any payment.
In early May, students initiated the UNAS Gawat Darurat (UNAS Emergency) movement and started an online campaign to urge the university to be transparent with its financial data and ensure fair policies for all students, lecturers and workers.
The university issued another regulation on May 20, providing an additional Rp 150,000 for each student impacted by the pandemic. However, the regulation did not specify the number of recipients.
The students continued the campaign nonetheless, with tensions escalating. Dozens of students reported facing “intimidation” on social media, with two students receiving phone calls from unknown sources and one student being directly contacted by a dean who told her to delete a post on social media.
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The online protests continued before the disciplinary commission began summoning student campaigners for questioning.
From June 10 to June 12, as the students were questioned at the campus’ disciplinary commission office, other UNAS students held demonstrations outside.
On June 10, the demonstrators claimed they were verbally intimidated and forcefully dispersed by security officers, which led to a clash. Some students reported being “beaten and kicked”.
They also said that a Bunda Mulia University (UBM) student and member of the Indonesian student press who came to observe the demonstration was apprehended by UNAS security before reportedly being taken to the Pasar Minggu Police headquarters.
“[The UBM student] used his phone to document the use of violence and threats by UNAS security staff to intimidate the protesters, but [the files] were deleted by the security officers,” the students said.
The demonstration continued on June 11, with another clash between the students and security officers, before ending on June 12, when demonstrators burned tires and their UNAS alma mater suits.
“We, as students who are calling for our full entitlement to educational fee compensation amid the pandemic, demand our democratic rights” the students said, while calling on the university to involve students in the formation of campus policies.
The students alleged Rasya had been “hit more than once on June 10 and 11.”
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The Jakarta Police did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
According to a letter issued by South Jakarta Police criminal investigation unit head Comr. Telly Alvin, Rasya is scheduled to be questioned on Thursday.
The letter states that Rasya’s case was reported on June 11 and had been described as a “criminal act of joint violence in public, as outlined under Article 170 of the Criminal Code.”
