Goklas Wisely, Medan – Scores of students in Medan city descended upon the North Sumatra (Sumut) Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Thursday January 26 to protest the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) that was issued last year to replace the Omnibus Law on Job Creation.
At around 3 pm the students entered the DPRD building after breaking down the front gates and could then be seen sitting on the seats the plenary meeting room.
Inside the plenary meeting room, the students erected a banner on the leadership board's table. The banner read "Reject Perppu No. 2/2022 on the Jobs Law" along with the logos of the student groups involved in the action.
The logos on the banner included the Indonesian Islamic Students Association (PMII), the Islamic Students Association (HMI), the Indonesian National Students Movement (GMNI), the Muhammadiyah Students Association (IMM) and the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI).
"Do our families work? Meaning we are articulating what is being fought for by our parents. The [Jobs Law] Perppu negates the rights of the working class. This make it the most rotten state", said North Sumatra HMI Coordination Body Chairperson Abdul Rahmat.
A number of DPRD legislators witnessed the action along with the police.
Earlier, the students who were holding an action in front of the DPRD building forced their way into the building because none of the legislators came out to meet with them.
A scuffle broke out between the students and police until in the end the demonstrators succeed in forcing their way in by demolishing the front gate.
The protesters then forced their way into the building, although they were blocked by security personnel, and in the end they occupied the plenary meeting room and erected the banner. (nkm/nkm)
[Translated by James Balowski. Edited slightly for clarity. The original title of the article was "Tolak Perppu Cipta Kerja, Mahasiswa Duduki Ruang Paripurna DPRD Sumut!".]