Melki Sedek Huang

Melki Sedek Huang (born 15 October 2000) is an Indonesian activist and politician who was the chairman of the student executive council at University of Indonesia (UI) from 21 January 2023 until his dismissal on 18 December on the same year due to sexual assault. In 2024, Huang joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and currently serving as it Deputy Chairman in West Kalimantan.

Life and career Huang was born on 15 October 2000 in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, as the eldest child and only son of the two children of Erny Susanti and Rama Yuddi Huang (1964–2018). He had a younger sister, Nadya Calista Huang. Huang graduated from SMA Negeri 1 Pontianak in 2019 and studied law at the University of Indonesia. As a student activist, he was involved in organizations such as the Badan Eksekutif Mahasiswa Universitas Indonesia (BEM UI). Huang added that he was interested in joining because he believes that PDI-P is committed to fighting for the constitution.

Controversy Puan Maharani rat meme On 24 March 2023, UI's student executive council Twitter and Instagram account published a meme depicting the face of Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, in a rat body. In the video, the House of Representatives building is split open and a mouse appears from the rubble which was followed by the appearance of Puan in a rat body, with the narration likening the House of Representatives to the People's Robbers Council.

Indonesian netizens had various diverging reactions to the video, some supported the meme while others said that the students instead should have demonstrated on the streets.

Hendrawan Supratikno, a politician for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, responded to the video said that criticism is part of the student struggle but there are also limitations that must be considered and added that don't let passion or persistent enthusiasm to defend a position slip into swearing that degrades the essence of the task, and goes outside the corridors and academic ethics. Many of politicians gave a various reaction such as United Development Party member, Arsul Sani, said that if the delivery was carried out by harassing the Puan like this it would not get any attention from the members of the House of Representatives in general and added that in general there will be only suspicions that students were being used by other parties. General Treasurer of NasDem Party, Ahmad Saroni, said that critics must be conveyed substantively and not in symbolic ways or even by attacking someone personally.

2023 UI's Tuition Fee riot By mid-2023, University of Indonesia increased tuition fees to more than four times the usual amount. University of Indonesia claimed that government assistance was decreasing and they needed to improve the quality of education. This policy resulted in hundreds of University of Indonesia students being unable to afford tuition fees and at risk of dropping out.

This policy was met with strong protests from all University of Indonesia students. They organized social movements and demonstrations for days. On the last day of the demonstration, there were building damages and severe clashes between University of Indonesia students and campus security guards. These clashes resulted in Huang getting injured and being sanctioned by the Rector.

2024 Presidential Candidate Debate On 23 August 2023, Huang invited the three of 2024 Indonesian Presidential Candidate such as Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo, and Prabowo, to hold a debate at the University of Indonesia on 14 September 2023. He invited all of the students and allowed the public to attend the debate event. He said that he was intimidated by the authorities on 28 October by visiting his school and home and asking about his personal information. Mahfud MD responded and said that he will sent a team to carry out additional investigations regarding the alleged intimidation to Huang and added that if this turned out to be true, the police had violated the constitution.

Sexual assault On 18 December 2023, Huang was temporarily dismissed from his position as chairman of the University of Indonesia Student Executive Board because he was suspected of committing sexual assault. However, he didn't know about the rules that he broke and said that he never did a sexual assault, and will face legal proceedings if the report is true. University of Indonesia representative, Amelita Lusia, said that the matter was an internal matter of the Indonesian University Student Executive Board so public comments could not be given.

Huang's deputy, Shifa Anindya Hartono, responded and said that the student executive had received the report and was carrying out an investigation. Chair of the Task Force for Preventing and Handling Sexual Violence University of Indonesia, Manneke Budiman, said that they had received a report of alleged sexual violence committed by Huang. However, Huang's dismissal was carried out as a procedure until the case had finished investigated. He was proved to have committed sexual violence in the form of touching, rubbing, groping, holding, hugging, kissing and rubbing parts of his body on the victim without consent, as well as practicing student community culture that had sexual violence in it. Huang then received a suspension for one semester and was banned from participating in organizations, activities, and was banned from being around the University of Indonesia. He also accused that the decision was unfair due to the lack of transparency and irregularities.