Season of Protests, Where Is Critical Thinking Heading?
Student protests broke out simultaneously in several cities across Indonesia from mid to late October 2026, like Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, and Pontianak. This wave of action was kicked off by various groups, including BEM SI, BEM UI, and the Sadar Alliance Committee, criticizing how the state has been run over the last two years and the handling of the haze disaster.
A similar thing is happening in Europe, from France to Italy, where young people are calling out the rising cost of basic needs, expensive education, low wages, scarce jobs, and ecological damage. Even though these are different countries, their frustration is the same-rulers who seem to have stopped properly dealing with people's problems, while promises of a better life keep getting delayed.
Freedom of expression through mass actions is guaranteed by Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution, but protests that turn anarchic push security forces to step in. For instance, the Bekasi City Metro Police detained three students suspected of mobilizing around 80 vocational high school students to head to Jakarta, showing there's a potential for infiltrators stirring things up.
In Islam, the act of correcting rulers is known as muhasabah lil hukam, with a mechanism for channeling aspirations through the Ummah Council or directly to the rulers, plus the role of qadi and the Mazhalim Court to uphold justice. Education is aimed at shaping a mindset and attitude based on Islamic creed, so that young people can think critically and become bearers of the ummah's revival.
https://www.harianaceh.co.id/2
Being critical is a must, but don’t go following those devilish whispers that push you into anarchy. Self-reflection for those in power should be done with Islamic manners, not just burning tires and rioting that ends up making life hard for the little people too.