Today's Prabowo-Professors Meeting Offers No Dialogue Session

January 15, 2026 | 05:58 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Professor of Political Science at the Indonesia University of Education, Cecep Darmawan, said the meeting between professors and university leaders with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta did not involve a dialogue session.

He mentioned that the professors and campus leaders from various regions were not given the opportunity to ask questions or convey their aspirations to the president.

Cecep received information that the reason for the meeting with President Prabowo without a dialogue was due to limited time.

"So, it was only President's presentation," Cecep told Tempo after the meeting at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, January 15, 2026.

He continued, in the meeting, the President promised to hold a special meeting to absorb aspirations from the universities. "Prabowo said there will be another meeting with a possibility of a dialogue," said Cecep.

Cecep is one of the 1,200 professors and university leaders invited by Prabowo to the Presidential Palace this Thursday. Some of the invited professors refused to attend the forum. One of them is Professor of Criminology at the University of Indonesia, Adrianus Meliala.

When contacted, Adrianus said he was not aware of the meeting invitation. However, upon learning that his name was on the list of invitations, Adrianus stated that he would not attend the event.

Professor at the Islamic University of Indonesia in Yogyakarta, Masduki, also refused to attend the invitation.

"The forum is only ceremonial, formalities, and uses a top-down or dominant President approach," Masduki said when contacted on Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

He imagined that the participants would only listen to a speech from President Prabowo which is strongly associated with public imaging. As a result, professors will not have the opportunity to openly criticize the government.

Masduki is also pessimistic about being able to provide input to Prabowo at the event.

Djohermansyah Djohan, a Professor at the Institute of Domestic Governance (IPDN) and Tjandra Yoga Aditama, a Professor of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, also took a similar stance to Adrianus. They also did not attend the meeting.

Read: Prabowo Raises Campus Research Funding to Rp12 Trillion

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