They Were Killed

The animals at the Surabaya Zoo (KBS) never knew that their bodies were dry and emaciated not because there was nothing to eat. Food in this universe is clearly available and abundant. However, that food never reaches their enclosures.

They don't have social media. So, where can they complain?

Various types of animals can only resign themselves and then die. From carnivores, herbivores, to those classified as apex predators, all appear to be in a very lamentable state. However, their deaths are not due to being preyed upon by other animals that are higher in the food chain.

They died because they were murdered!

The President Director of PD Taman Satwa KBS for the period 2016-2024 has been designated as a suspect and was detained on July 21, 2026. It is estimated that the state has suffered losses of up to Rp 10.2 billion.

This corruption practice has drawn public attention as it directly targets animal feed funds. The modus operandi used is budget inflation. The accountability reports were then manipulated to appear as though the expenditures were in accordance with procedures, whereas the actual volume of feed provided has been severely cut.

As a result of the reduction in food rations and the embezzlement of operational funds over the years, the animals at KBS are suffering from acute malnutrition. They have become very thin, vulnerable to diseases, and some have been reported dead due to a lack of nutrition and care. In addition, the embezzled funds have caused many zoo facilities to become dirty, damaged, and poorly maintained.

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This is clearly a structural problem. Friedrich Engels formulated the concept of social murder in the 19th century. Engels argued that when a social system deliberately deprives vulnerable groups of their basic needs and places them in conditions that make survival impossible, it is not bad luck at all, but rather premeditated murder by the oppressive structure of society.

Corruption of zoo operational funds is social murder in its most blatant form. The animals aren't simply lazy about foraging. Their access to food sources or food quality is limited by the corrupt system. Their natural wildlife and forest habitats are being cleared. Zoos, which are supposed to ensure the survival of animals, are being turned into altars for mass slaughter.

I'm reminded of a scene from the movie 3 Idiots. Joy Lobo, a brilliant engineering student, ends her life after her final project is arbitrarily rejected by the college director, Professor "Virus" Sahastrabuddhe.

Unfortunately, the campus referred to it as a suicide due to weak mental health. In fact, Joy Lobo was a victim of an oppressive education system. Unable to accept that the death of his dormitory mate was taken lightly, Ranchodas Chanchad (Rancho) whispered to Professor Virus at Joy Lobo's funeral: "This is not a suicide, but a murder, Sir!"

What Rancho said in the film and what happens to the animals in the zoo are indeed different contexts. However, both share a vital essence in how a system can produce humanitarian tragedies.

After all, we are also essentially animals, according to the Aristotelian definition. In Arabic, hayawan al-natiq (rational animals). Unlike animals, humans are driven not only by survival and reproduction instincts, but also by cultural systems. A corrupt culture breeds a corrupt society.

The problem is that corruption not only harms the state but also alters the way we interpret misfortune. In many respects, our society often views poverty as merely a stroke of bad luck. Or worse, it accuses the poor of being lazy, lacking determination, and insufficiently prayerful.

Death is ultimately seen as a consequence of individual actions; suffering as mere statistics. In reality, both are products of imbalanced power relations and a system that gradually closes off the possibility for an individual to continue living.

In Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Hannah Arendt shows that modern evil doesn't always arise from seemingly monstrous figures. Bureaucrats who diligently follow procedures without questioning the moral consequences of their actions can also become demons who take the lives of citizens or vulnerable groups.

There is no bloodshed at the official meeting table, but the various decisions of the elite can result in hunger, poverty, unemployment, and even drive chicken thieves to death after being attacked by mobs.

At this point, should we still take the shortcut of considering that the poor who are struggling for their lives, or the existence of poverty itself, as fate and accuse them of being those who are far from God?

Anwar Kurniawan, Lecturer at ISI Surakarta; Cultural and Media Studies Activist