Surabaya – Hundreds of students from the East Java Nusantara Student Executive Council (BEM) held a protest action in front of the East Java Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building on Jalan Indrapura in Surabaya on Monday January 19.
During the action, the students voiced their opposition to the discourse on electing regional heads (Pilkada) through DPRDs or indirect regional elections. "We reject Pilkada through the DPRDs", said action coordinator Deni Oktaviano Putra.
The discourse on indirect regional elections has previously been voiced by several political parties. They raised the idea after citing the high cost of direct regional elections in Indonesia.
Observations at the location showed students from various campuses carrying black coffins with the words "RIP Democracy" written on them. The coffins were displayed on the razor wire erected by security officers at the location.
They also gave speeches from a command vehicle parked right in front of the main gate of the DPRD building. Not only that, they also conveyed their demands through several banners.
Putra stated that students in East Java have declared their opposition to indirect regional elections because they consider this to be a form of democratic regression.
"We think it's the people's right to elect their leaders every five years. If it's returned to the DPRDs then it would be a democratic regression", he said.
In addition to the issue of indirect regional elections, the students also voiced demands for an evaluation of the Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) program, which they consider to be ineffective.
Meanwhile, East Java DPRD Speaker Musyafak Rouf, who met with the protesters, guaranteed that he would forward all the students' demands, including their rejection of indirect regional elections.
"I've read all the demands they brought. I will forward them", Rouf said during a dialogue with the students.
In his explanation, Rouf revealed that the discussions on the regional election system are still just discussions and had not been included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) at the House of Representatives (DPR) this year.
This includes the MBG issue. According to Rouf, the East Java DPRD lacks the capacity to evaluate or even halt the program, as it is a central government program. "It's not our domain", he said.
Meanwhile, DPR Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad confirmed that revisions to the Regional Election Law have not been included in the Prolegnas proposed by the DPR's Commission II. So the discourse on the proposal for the election of regional heads via the DPRDs, which is included in the Draft Law on Regional Elections, will not be discussed in the near future.
"We have already discussed it and the DPR and the government have agreed that this year's Prolegnas will not include the regional election law", Ahmad said during a press conference at the parliamentary complex on Monday. (frd/dal)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aksi Ratusan Mahasiswa di Jatim Tolak Pilkada via DPRD".]
