Hanaa Septiana, Jakarta – The Student Executive Board (BEM) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) of Airlangga University (Unair) in Indonesia was frozen after creating a satirical flower arrangement for President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The Dean of FISIP Unair argued that the flower arrangement was unethical.
From photos circulated on social media, the flower arrangement was rectangular and featured pictures of the elected president and vice president, Prabowo-Gibran.
The board was inscribed with 'Congratulations on the inauguration of General Ruthless Human Rights Violator and 2.3 GPA Professor as President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia born from an unconstitutional womb'.
At the bottom of Prabowo's photo, it was labeled Chief of Mawar Team. Meanwhile, under Gibran's photo, it was signed Admin Fufufafa. Additionally, there was a note 'From: Mulyono (Democracy Destroyer Scoundrel).
The President of BEM FISIP Unair, Tuffahati Ulayyah confirmed that their organization is currently frozen due to the flower arrangement. 'Yes, since Friday, October 25, 2024 (frozen),' Tufa told Tempo, on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
Tufa then explained the chronology. According to him, the flower arrangement did indeed come from the initiative of BEM FISIP Unair and was set up since Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at 3:00 PM WIB. The message on the flower arrangement aimed to express disappointment over the series of events during the 2024 Election.
'We intentionally placed it in the FISIP Unair campus garden to attract attention. It also went viral on social media,' Tufa said.
The placement of the flower arrangement led to the summons of BEM FISIP Unair by the faculty's ethics committee on Friday, October 25, 2024, at 9:30 AM WIB. They were summoned to provide clarification.
During the summoning session, BEM Unair was asked about ownership and the possibility of involvement of external parties in creating the flower arrangement. 'We responded that there was no involvement of external parties,' Tufa said.
On the same day at 4:13 PM WIB, BEM FISIP Unair received an email from the Dean's office stating that the student organization was frozen. The letter mentioned that the flower arrangement installation on the FISIP Unair grounds was done without permission and coordination with the faculty.
Furthermore, the letter also stated that 'The narrative used in the flower arrangement is not in line with the ethics and academic culture of campus individuals'.
At the end of the letter, it was written 'The Dean of FISIP Unair Decided that the Management of BEM FISIP Unair is frozen starting today and awaits the issuance of the next Dean's Decision of FISIP Unair.
The letter was also signed by the Dean of FISIP Unair, Bagong Suyanto with a copy to seven campus officials, including the Rector of Unair.
Furthermore, BEM FISIP Unair responded to the letter by contacting the Dean of FISIP Unair. "We are allowed to meet with the Dean on Monday, October 28, 2024," Tufa said.