The Badan Eksekutif Mahasiswa (BEM) KM Universitas Andalas has expressed their criticism towards the recent decision of the Indonesian government to pass Perppu Cipta Kerja into law through an Attack on Titan inspired poster. The poster features not only the face of the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Speaker, Puan Maharani, but also that of President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, Menteri Koordinator bidang Politik, Hukum dan Keamanan (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD, and Menteri Koordinator bidang Perekonomian Airlangga Hartarto. The faces of Jokowi, Mahfud MD, and Airlangga were included in the poster to represent figures portrayed as betraying the people of Indonesia through the passage of Perppu Cipta Kerja.
The poster was uploaded through the Instagram account @bemkmunand, and the face of Puan was included atop a giant Titan’s body to symbolize the BEM’s resistance towards the passage of the Perppu Cipta Kerja into law. BEM KM Universitas Andalas expressed anger over the fact that the bill was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court (MK) but was still upheld as law through the passage of the Perppu by the House of Representatives. “It’s a very dirty scenario by the traitor!” they emphatically stated.
Prior to BEM KM Universitas Andalas, BEM Universitas Indonesia also caused controversy through an animated video featuring three rats within the Indonesian House of Representatives building. A large rat was depicted in the middle with the head of the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Speaker, Puan Maharani. According to the head of BEM UI, Melki Sedek Huang, the video was a form of anger towards the passage of Perppu Cipta Kerja into law. The BEM UI has been consistent in rejecting the law since its formulation in 2020. However, despite the ruling by the Constitutional Court, President Jokowi still issued the Perppu.
“Even more strangely, what makes us even angrier is Jokowi’s unconstitutional actions that issued the Job Creation Law Perppu, even though it was agreed upon by all members of the House of Representatives who passed the Job Creation Law Perppu yesterday,” said Melki. The BEM KM Universitas Andalas and BEM Universitas Indonesia’s criticism have continued to grow, with both student organizations and the rest of the Indonesian community still opposing the passage of the Perppu Cipta Kerja.
