Jakarta. Dozens of civil servants of the Higher Education, Science, and Technology Ministry staged a protest in the ministry's office building on Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Monday, voicing their dissatisfaction with the leadership of Minister Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro.

The employees held banners with the messages, "We are state employees, paid by the state, working for the state, not family servants" and "The state institution is not Satryo and wife's private company." The protest was sparked by concerns over the minister’s authoritarian behavior, particularly his practice of dismissing employees unilaterally without clear procedures.

Protester Suwitno commented on the leadership's actions, saying, “There are several actions taken by the leadership that are not in accordance with the procedures, giving the impression of being authoritarian, including dismissing employees unilaterally.”

The demonstrators called for clarification regarding the status of employees who had been dismissed and demanded that Minister Satryo show greater respect for procedure and personnel when making staffing decisions.

One key issue raised in the protest was the dismissal of Neni Herlina, a staff member responsible for managing office needs. Neni claimed that she felt humiliated when the minister fired her verbally on January 17 in front of colleagues. She attributed the cause of her firing to a minor incident involving the relocation of a desk in Minister Satryo’s office, a decision she said had initially come from the minister’s wife.

A separate incident that fueled the protest involved a voice recording that surfaced online. In the recording, Minister Satryo is heard angrily reprimanding a staff member who failed to provide water at his official residence in South Jakarta. The staff member admitted to being at fault due to attending to his sick wife, but the minister’s reaction was described as severe and uncalled for.

Togar Simatupang, the Ministry's Secretary General, addressed the circulating recording, stating, "I cannot provide clarification yet because the information is still unclear. We will investigate further."

Minister Satryo, born on Jan. 5, 1956, in Delft, Netherlands, has an extensive academic and professional background. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has worked on significant international collaborations, including a project with Japan’s JICA in designing the Hasanuddin University Engineering Faculty building in South Sulawesi. Throughout his career, Satryo has received numerous awards, including the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the Japanese Embassy in 2016 for his contributions to education and engineering.