Jakarta. Professor Ichlasul Amal, a respected international relations scholar and former Gadjah Mada University (UGM) chancellor as well as chairman of the Press Council, passed away on Thursday morning at a Jakarta hospital. He was 82 years old.

According to a statement from his family, the funeral will be held later today in Yogyakarta.

Ichlasul Amal studied international relations at UGM's Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, where he later dedicated his career as a lecturer and eventually served as dean.

In 1998, during Indonesia's reform movement that demanded an end to President Soeharto's authoritarian rule, Ichlasul joined thousands of students in protest. That same year, he became UGM’s chancellor.

After retiring from UGM, Ichlasul was appointed chairman of the Press Council, a role he held from 2003 to 2010.

As a political analyst, he was known for his nonpartisan and critical views on government policies, along with his unwavering commitment to press freedom.

Nursodik Gunaryo, a former student who is now a director at the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization, shared a memory of visiting Ichlasul’s home in Yogyakarta in 2014.

“I saw what a humble man he was. The professor lived in an unassuming housing complex despite his prestigious career as a chancellor and chairman of the Press Council. His car was modest, and so was the furniture in his home,” Nursodik wrote in a Facebook post. “I truly believe he was an exceptionally good man.”