National

Students March to Tugu Tani After Calling Government a 'Total Failure'

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 20, 2026•4 min read

Following a morning rally at Proclamation Monument, hundreds of students marched to Tugu Tani with five demands. A total of 9,505 joint security personnel were deployed to guard 26 rallies that day.

Key Facts

Apa: Aksi simbolik mahasiswa di Tugu Proklamasi pada Selasa pagi (20/10/2026) telah selesai; ratusan massa melanjutkan aksi massa ke Tugu Tani mulai pukul 15.00 WIB.
Siapa: Komite Selamatkan Daulat Rakyat (Sadar) — BEM UI, KM ITB, Unpad, Undip, UNNES, Sema UGM, BEM UPN Veteran Yogyakarta, BEM Unair, Eksekutif Mahasiswa UB, ULM, PNJ — dipimpin Ketua BEM UI Yatalathof Imawan dan koordinator Hafidz Haernanda.
Kapan: Selasa, 20 Oktober 2026 — tepat dua tahun pelantikan Prabowo-Gibran; aksi simbolik 09.00 WIB, aksi massa 15.00–18.00 WIB.
Di mana: Tugu Proklamasi dan Tugu Tani, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat; aksi juga digelar serentak di Yogyakarta dan Makassar.
Mengapa: Evaluasi dua tahun pemerintahan dengan 5 tuntutan — karhutla/banjir bencana nasional, perbaikan ekonomi, kebebasan berpendapat, berantas KKN, turunkan biaya pendidikan-kesehatan; survei 560 responden: 78,8 persen menilai gagal.
Bagaimana: Mahasiswa tidak mengenakan almamater (inklusif); mahasiswa Kalimantan menyuarakan kabut asap; 9.505 personel gabungan mengawal 26 aksi; rekayasa lalin situasional; buruh absen; pelajar diimbau tidak ikut.

Symbolic action concludes, crowd heads to Tugu Tani

JAKARTA — A series of student rallies commemorating the two-year mark of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's administration entered its second phase. After holding a symbolic demonstration at the Proclamation Monument in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday morning (20/10/2026), hundreds of demonstrators under the Save People's Sovereignty Committee (Komite Sadar) marched toward Tugu Tani to stage a mass rally starting at 3:00 PM WIB (Western Indonesia Time).

According to Suara.com's on-site observations, dozens of demonstrators had gathered before the monument commemorating the proclamation of independence early in the morning. In his speech, Hafidz Haernanda, Coordinator of the Social and Political Division of BEM UI (Student Executive Board of the University of Indonesia), stated that Prabowo's two years in office demonstrated complete governance failure. 'Two years later, regarding promises said to be fulfilled, we dare say it is a total failure,' Hafidz said. After delivering five core demands, the crowd prepared to merge with hundreds of other participants at Tugu Tani.

Five demands based on a survey of 560 citizens

Komite Sadar brought five demands formulated from the results of a survey of 560 respondents spanning Sumatra to Papua. The demands include: declaring forest and land fires (karhutla) and flooding as national disasters accompanied by citizen healthcare recovery and legal action against responsible corporations; improving economic policy governance and restoring market confidence; ending curbs on freedom of speech; eradicating corruption, collusion, and nepotism; and reducing the costs of education, healthcare, and public services.

In the survey, 78.8 percent of respondents rated the administration and its cabinet as having failed. 'We invite all civil society to take part in evaluating, to reprimand two years of Prabowo-Gibran, because there are still three years ahead that we must see through,' Hafidz said.

Ditching alma mater jackets, regional students join

The demonstration drew an estimated 500 to 700 participants, comprising university students and various civil society elements. Participating campuses included the University of Indonesia, Bandung Institute of Technology, Padjadjaran University, Diponegoro University, Semarang State University, Gadjah Mada University, UPN Veteran Yogyakarta, Airlangga University, Brawijaya University, Lambung Mangkurat University, and Jakarta State Polytechnic. Demonstrations were also held simultaneously in Yogyakarta and Makassar.

Students chose not to wear their university alma mater jackets to make the movement more inclusive and foster solidarity with civil society. Students from Kalimantan, such as those from Lambung Mangkurat University, received special invitations to voice local environmental issues, notably the impacts of toxic haze caused by forest and land fires.

BEM UI scheduled the rally to continue until 6:00 PM WIB in accordance with their police notification permit. The organizing committee established mechanisms to preempt provocations and infiltration, ensuring the protest remains orderly. BEM UI also plans to hold a follow-up demonstration on October 28, 2026, coinciding with Youth Pledge Day, though the location has not yet been announced.

9,505 personnel deployed alongside traffic diversions

Polda Metro Jaya (Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police) deployed 9,505 joint TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces)-Polri (Indonesian National Police) personnel to secure 26 separate demonstrations scheduled across Jakarta on the same day. The Traffic Management Centre (TMC) of Polda Metro Jaya issued warnings regarding congestion and announced situational traffic diversions starting from 10:00 AM WIB until the conclusion of rallies around the National Monument (Monas), Jalan Sudirman-MH Thamrin, and the DPR/MPR (House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly) building.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency prepared alternative routes across six congestion-prone areas: Monas, Tugu Tani, DPR/MPR, UKI Cawang, Bundaran Senayan, and Rawamangun. Meanwhile, labor union groups KSPSI (Confederation of All Indonesian Workers' Unions) and KBPBI (Indonesian United Labor Movement Center) confirmed they would not take to the streets, and Polda Banten (Banten Regional Police) urged primary and secondary students not to take part in the protests.