Ubaidilah Badrun, a 1998 Reform Movement activist and lecturer at Jakarta State University (UNJ), has been removed from his position as Head of the Department of Sociology without any clear explanation. Ubaid’s repeated activism in highlighting alleged corruption and nepotism involving former President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his family is suspected to be one of the primary reasons behind his unusual dismissal. Although the Rector formally has the authority to make such a decision, no compelling justification has been provided, particularly since Ubaid demonstrated strong performance during his tenure and achieved a number of notable accomplishments for the academic program he led.
The Rector of UNJ may have forgotten that Jokowi is no longer the President of Indonesia, yet Ubaid’s critical activism toward the Jokowi family still appears to require suppression. The Rector continues to act as though it is necessary to serve Jokowi and his family. This form of passive silencing of academics and activists has become a method of weakening resistance, critical voices, and civic activism—a pattern that was practiced during Jokowi’s presidency. Only a small number of professors and academics have remained steadfast in speaking out despite facing pressure and passive forms of intimidation.
Whereas active silencing takes the form of criminalizing freedom of expression—often targeting human rights activists, legal aid advocates, and environmental defenders—passive silencing is generally directed at academics and public intellectuals by obstructing their career advancement, such as preventing promotions to professorships or removing them from leadership positions within universities. Throughout Jokowi’s administration, university rectors frequently acted as extensions of political power, particularly during election periods, by controlling campus activism and providing academic justifications for the actions of the ruling regime. The latest form of passive silencing targeting universities is the promise of mining concessions, offered through the government’s fast-tracked revision of the Mineral and Coal Mining Law (UU Minerba).
According to the SETARA Institute Human Rights Index 2024, the score for the indicator on freedom of expression and opinion stands at 1.1, representing a decline of 0.2 points compared to the 2023 Human Rights Index, on a scale of 1 to 7. Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in its Democracy Index, ranked Indonesia 56th globally with a score of 6.53 in 2023, falling two places compared to 2022. These indicators suggest that the condition of democracy and civil liberties is unlikely to improve under the administration of Prabowo Subianto.
In addition to the burden of legal controversies surrounding his path to power—including allegations that constitutional rules were manipulated through the Constitutional Court—Prabowo Subianto has shown little vision for advancing democracy and human rights, as reflected during the first 100 days of his administration. There has been no comprehensive democratic roadmap, no meaningful human rights agenda, and no indication that the rule of law will be significantly strengthened. Rather than reinforcing civilian supremacy, Prabowo has instead promoted military supremacy by involving an increasingly large number of retired military officers, military officials, and active-duty TNI personnel in civilian affairs.
HENDARDI
Chairperson of the National Board SETARA Institute