TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The founder of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting, Saiful Mujani, stated that people are increasingly afraid to openly discuss politics under President Prabowo Subianto's administration. This observation draws from a survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting in March 2026. He noted that the current situation is different from the early days of the post-Suharto Reformation era.
"At the beginning of the reformation, on a scale from 0 to 10, the score was seven. Now, it has dropped to only three," he said during the Republic Conference in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, June 28, 2026.
The poll surveyed the public on the extent to which they fear discussing political matters. The findings revealed that 3 out of 10 respondents are afraid to engage in political conversations. For him, this indicates that the freedom to openly debate politics is becoming increasingly restricted.
Saiful also cited the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) index regarding freedom of expression. Freedom of expression measures the government's respect for its citizens' rights to express themselves, including both political freedom and academic life.
According to V-Dem's historical analysis, Indonesia’s freedom score hovered around 7 between 2000 and 2010. However, by 2025, that score had plummeted to below 5. "So, from a seven, the score has now averaged out to four across all of these indicators," he observed.
Based on these trends, Saiful believes that civic freedom has hit a very low point. Furthermore, he noted that the public is also growing fearful of arbitrary actions by state apparatuses and constitutional violations. For him, this fear is something that must be challenged.
Prior to this event, Saiful Mujani had presented these findings on the Political Review program aired on the SMRC TV YouTube channel on Thursday, April 30, 2026. He referenced a series of national surveys conducted by SMRC and LSI that tracked public attitudes toward political expression over time.
Since October 2024, when Prabowo assumed the presidency, the perception of public fear has been growing stronger. At the start of his term, 51 percent of the population felt that people were afraid to discuss politics. This figure ticked upward to 53 percent by March 2026.
Saiful delivered his remarks at the Republic Conference in Cikini. Originally, the forum was scheduled to take place at the UI Campus in Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, June 28, 2026. However, UI abruptly canceled the event, citing a failure to meet administrative procedures.
The conference brought together participants from various civil society backgrounds, including figures like Sudirman Said and Yanuar Nugroho.
Read: Why UI Canceled Republic Conference After Prabowo Talk
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