JAKARTA – The government has reaffirmed its commitment to respecting people’s freedom of expression and ensuring it will never influence demonstrations taking place in public spaces. This assertion follows allegations that the government was behind demonstrations supporting the Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) Program.
Kurnia Ramadhana, Acting Deputy for Partnerships and Media Relations at the Indonesian Government Communications Agency (Bakom), denied the allegations. He stated that the government does not intervene in community groups expressing support or criticism of state policies.
“Regarding the allegations that the government is conditioning the demonstrations supporting MBG, I don’t think that’s true,” Kurnia said.
Kurnia emphasized that freedom of expression is a right of every citizen, guaranteed by law. Therefore, the government provides equal opportunity for all citizens, regardless of political views or attitudes toward policies.
“Under Indonesian law, anyone is free to express an opinion, whether they agree with government policy or criticize it,” he said.
He added that the government respects all aspirations expressed through the appropriate mechanisms. “The government’s position is to respect both parties,” he emphasized.
In addition to guaranteeing freedom of expression, the government is also continuously improving the implementation of the MBG Program. According to Kurnia, evaluations are conducted to ensure the program’s implementation is more effective and provides optimal benefits to the community.
“Essentially, what the government is currently doing is trying to improve itself in terms of the MBG program. Meanwhile, improvements are being made by the new BGN leadership,” he said.
The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) also demonstrated a spirit of openness in gathering aspirations. The Chairman of Commission II of the DPR RI, Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, stated that his office would conduct field trips to several non-parliamentary political parties and community organizations to gather input for deliberations on the Draft Law on Elections.
“We agreed to continue refining the Problem Inventory List (DIM) for the Election Bill. The House leadership supports the activities carried out by Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), which has invited several election experts, specialists, and stakeholders,” said Rifqinizamy.
He added that Commission II will also engage in dialogue with various community organizations to obtain broader input on the direction of Indonesian democracy. “This is to gather aspirations and assess how the expectations and concepts presented by non-parliamentary parties and organizations relate to our electoral and democratic blueprint,” he said.
At the regional level, the spirit of respecting community aspirations was also reflected in an audience held by the Bogor City Government with the Bogor Student Executive Board (BEM). During the meeting, the students expressed their appreciation for the space provided for dialogue by the local government and expressed their hope that the various demands conveyed would be truly followed up.
Responding to this, Bogor Deputy Mayor Jenal Mutaqin emphasized the local government’s commitment to overseeing all student aspirations within its jurisdiction. “The document of demands has been forwarded to the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) as a demonstration of the government’s commitment to following up on the community’s aspirations,” he said.
This series of steps demonstrates that the government, along with the House of Representatives (DPR) and regional governments, continues to maintain an open democratic space. Freedom of expression remains respected as a constitutional right of every citizen, while emerging aspirations are incorporated into the process of refining public policies to be more responsive and in favor of the public interest.
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