Yogyakarta, 1 October 2019—Honestly, I am apathetic. However, Gejayan Memanggil (Gejayan Calling) has successfully caught my attention, and I did take part in this march,” as stated by Dinda, a Fisipol student that participated in this post-march reflection. This event was entitled “Reflection Forum: #Reformasidikorupsi (#thereformationisbeingcorrupted),” and took place in the West Hall of Fisipol UGM.
This post-march reflection was organized by Fisipol as a platform for discussion concerning the #GejayanMemanggil march that took place on Yogyakarta at the 23rd and the 30th of September. This march was dubbed “Aliansi Rakyat Bergerak” (The People’s Movement Alliance) and was applauded for being able to present its 9 demands in a peaceful and organized manner. People from various backgrounds, such as NGO activists, artists, students, Fisipol lecturers and anyone that is interested took part in this march
Muhammad Hikari Ersada, a Fisipol student from the batch of 2014, was one of the participants that took part since the consolidation phase until #GejayanMemanggil2. “Gejayan Memanggil represented the people as a whole, it did not represent one particular group. This march gathered the people’s aspirations and earned their trust,” Hikari conveyed.
Gendis Syar’i, a Fisipol student from the batch of 2016 that took part in the two editions of Gejayan Memanggil, seconded his statement. “There are numerous negative claims concerning this march, such as being taken advantaged by the opposition, by radical groups, promoting liberal ideas and even spreading communism. Regardless of these claims, this march isn’t the end, as many questions remain unanswered,” Gendis stated.
Meanwhile, Putu, a student from the batch of 2014, shared his motivation on why he participated in this march. “As a citizen I was present to stop the “violence” in the form of policies.” Various methods were used to voice the aspirations of the participants in this march, such as theatrical acts and musical acts.
Representatives from the Alliance of Papuan Students also attended this post-event reflection. They hoped that the spirit of Gejayan Memanggil can also spread into the rural areas in order to raise public awareness and to provide political education for the public.
Abdul Gaffar Karim, the Head of the Undergraduate Programme of the Department of Politics and Governance, supported this march and appreciated his critical students. “There is a policy in which the maximum study duration of undergraduate students here is 5 years. When this policy was started, I was afraid that student activism will end, because they would want to graduate as soon as possible. However, yesterday’s march has removed that wariness.
This post-event reflection also brought together the students that participated in Gejayan Memanggil and lecturers that were activist themselves back in the ’98 reformation. At the beginning, the central administration of UGM has declared that UGM will not participate in this march. However, Fisipol supported this march in order to provide checks and balances to the government. Amalinda Savirani, a lecturer from the Department of Politics and Governance and an activist back in ’98, supported this march through her writings. Her article is available at The Conversation website, entitled “Continue the fight!’: a ‘98 activist reflects on the 2019 student movement in Indonesia.”