Safeguard Universities from Radicalism
During the New Order Era, universities were sterilized — or “normalized”, as it was called back then — from political activities in the wake of outbursts of protests by critical students.
Bomb squad officers display evidence during a briefing at the Riau Police station on Saturday evening (2/6/2018). The National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad and the Riau Police arrested three Riau University alumni as terorrist suspects at the university’s sports hall at noon on Saturday and confiscated four bombs, eight other explosive devices and two arrows. The explosives were intended to be used in an attack on the local legislature (DPRD) and the House of Representatives.
During the New Order Era, universities were sterilized — or “normalized”, as it was called back then — from political activities in the wake of outbursts of protests by critical students.
Nevertheless, in the years leading to the dawn of the Reform Era, university students were still leading street protests all over the country. Indeed, this has always been one of the defining dynamics of Indonesian universities: our students have never stayed silent in times when political developments are seemingly going against the interests of the people. On the other hand, academics are also urged to continuously produce high-quality research.