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Intellectual freedom at risk as politics creeps further into academia
Concerns grow over the politicization of Indonesia's overarching research agency.
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Megawati Soekarnoputri, as head of the Agency for the Implementation of the State Ideology of Pancasila's (BPIP) steering committee, speaks during a presidential lecture event at the State Palace in Jakarta on Dec. 3, 2019. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
T
he inauguration of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the most powerful woman in Indonesian politics today, as the chief advisor to the nation’s first-ever superbody for research and innovation has cast a dark shadow over the future of academic freedom in the country.
Her appointment by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last week came amid growing concerns among academics that some of the top Indonesian universities are being coopted by political interests, with the State Jakarta University (UNJ) recently being accused of trying to amend a university regulation to grant honorary degrees to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir.
Megawati, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), now officially leads the steering committee of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), expanding her political clout further after previously being tapped by the President to advise the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP).
Established in 2019, BRIN is now the overarching agency that manages the country's state-owned research institutions, including the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the National Nuclear Agency (BATAN) and the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology.
‘Pancasilaization’ of research
Critics say that appointing Megawati as BRIN chief advisor is a mistake.
