Lecturers and intelectuals from several universities in Indonesia are joining hands in expressing their concerns on deteriorating democratization in Indonesia, citing unethical, corrupt and nepotistic practices amidst worsening quality of life in the country.

Chairwoman of the Universitity of Indonesia’s Board of Professors, Prof. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, said greed in the name of development without data-based academic papers, sanity of mind and control of greed, has destroyed biodiversity as well as natural resources and wealth in the forests, water, and under the ground and sea.

"We are concerned with the attitude and behavior of officials, political and legal elites who break their oaths of office to accumulate personal wealth, and leave the country ungoverned and eroded by corruption, which peak in the run-up to elections. We are worried that the current crisis will destroy the future of the nation and Indonesianness," Harkristuti said while reading the communique of UI’s Board of Professors in the university’s campus in Depok, West Java, on Friday, February 2, 2024..

The University of Indonesia invited all universities in Indonesia to closely monitor the upcoming general elections, condemn all actions that suppress freedom of expression, and ensure that the people can use their political rights in the elections without intimidation and fear. The communique also demand that civil servants, government officials, as well as military and police personnel be freed from coercion to win one of the candidate pairs.

Earlier on Wednesday, the academic community of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta released the Bulaksumur Petition in response to the latest political conditions in the country. The petition was read by Psychology Professor Koentjoro, representing professors, lecturers, students, and alumni of UGM.

Head of UGM’s Centre for Pancasila Studies Agus Wahyudi said the petition was a response to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's attitude that began to openly show his partiality to one pair of presidential and vice presidential candidates. Jokowi himself is an alumnus of the UGM’s School of Forestry, graduating in 1985.

"This petition is an expression of dissatisfaction that has accumulated for a long time. We eventually decided to voice our concerns as this aggravation reached its peak since President Jokowi began showing his partiality to one of the pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates," Agus said as quoted by Kompas.id on Wednesday.

Agus Wahyudi said they regretted deviant acts during the administration of President Joko Widodo, who is also part of the UGM family. He cited ethical violations in the Constitutional Court, the involvement of a number of law enforcement officers in the ongoing elections, and the president's contradictory statements which allow public officials’ involvement in political campaigns in one hand, and order for state officials’ neutrality in elections on the other hand.

Through the petition, UGM’s academic community asks law enforcement and state officials as well as political actors behind the President, including the President himself, to return to the corridors of democracy and prioritize populist values and social justice.

"We also urge the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to take firm and concrete steps to address the various political upheavals that have occurred to ensure that the people’s sovereignty is upheld with good quality and dignity," Agus concluded.

Besides UI and UGM, other universities have also voiced their concerns on the worsening democratization in the country, including the Padang-based Andalas University and Yogyakarta-based Indonesia Islamic University and Muhamaddiyah University.