Rocky Gerung

About

Indonesian philosopher, academic, and public intellectual. He has 2 million subscribers on YouTube.

Before Fame

He studied political science at the University of Indonesia and graduated in 1986. He taught in the department as a non-permanent lecturer until the beginning of 2015. He stopped teaching due to the issuance of Law No. 14 of 2005 which requires a lecturer to have a minimum of a master's degree; whereas Rocky only holds a bachelor's degree.

Trivia

In December 2021, the Movement of Nusantara Advocates reported him and four other opposition figures to the Indonesian National Police on charges of hate speech. Gerung responded by saying that Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, had failed to embody the equality of all Indonesian citizens. His YouTube channel has become so popular that it is not unusual for his latest release to receive over 10,000 views in less than a single day.

Family Life

He was born in Manodo, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. One of his students included the actress Dian Sastrowardoyo.

Associated With

In 2005, he  co-founded the Setara Institute, a think tank in the field of democracy and human rights, with Abdurrahman Wahid and Azyumardi Azra.