School of Strategic and Global Studies (SSGS) Universitas Indonesia (UI) held a public discussion entitled “Grand Design Politics and National Leadership: Prospects of the Contribution of the Young Generation to Realize a Golden Indonesia 2045” by presenting as speakers Director of the Wahid Foundation Yenny Wahid, Chairperson of Taruna Merah Putih Maruarar Sirait, Mayor of Bogor Bima Arya, and Chairman of the UI SSGS Forma Bahal Siregar. The discussion which was attended by approximately 250 participants was guided by Mufida Inas Aulya, a student of the SSGS UI Islamic Middle East Regional Studies study program.
In accordance with the mandate of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, Indonesia is a sovereign, just and prosperous country. Based on this foundation, one of the projections from Golden Indonesia is the growth of a country that has the best economic resilience in the world. Indonesia has two privileges, namely natural resources and human resources. Both will be a demographic bonus in 2045 if developed properly. Therefore, it takes a grand design of politics and the right national leadership so that Indonesia can take advantage of this opportunity.
The younger generation is the key to the birth of Golden Indonesia 2045. According to the Mayor of Bogor, Bima Arya, by 2030, 65% of the Indonesian population will be of productive age, meaning that nearly 200 million people will contribute to Indonesia’s development. What Indonesia needs in 2030 are 117 thousand doctors, 2.2 million engineers, 10 million entrepreneurs, and various other professions. If this demographic bonus fails to be utilized, unemployment will occur at a very high rate, as happened in Brazil and South Africa (53% of millennials in South Africa are unemployed). Therefore, the opportunity for Golden Indonesia 2045 could turn into a disaster if the community and the government are not ready.
Reading into this condition, apart from Bima Arya, SSGS UI also invited Yenny Wahid and Maruarar Sirait to discuss the grand design that must be prepared by the younger generation in order to achieve the 2045 Golden Indonesia. The discussion which was held at the Makara Art Center (MAC) UI Building, on Monday (27/6), was attended by the Head of the Technical Implementation Unit of MAC UI, Dr. Ngatawi Al-Zastrouw; students from various universities in Greater Jakarta; and has been witnessed by 11,354 views on Youtube Public Relations of SIL & SSGS UI.
Deputy Director of SSGS UI, Dr. Eva Achjani Zulfa, S.H., M.H., viewed this meeting as an effort for the younger generation to prepare themselves for unknown situations in the future. “Our predecessors faced a real enemy, the Dutch and Japanese soldiers, which we could face. During the New Order, Old Order, until the Reformation, our enemy was an economic threat. Nowadays, threats come to befall economic security, food security, and security in the health sphere. Those are the threats that we will face in the future,” said Dr. Eva in her speech.
According to Yenny Wahid, the purpose of politics is to choose a leader; choose a system of government that makes the people happy, prosperous, safe; become an independent, sovereign country; and play a big role in world politics. “As President Jokowi is currently doing, he stopped by Ukraine and Russia to try to reconcile. Why should it be reconciled? Because with globalization, the effects of conflict are not only limited to Russia and Ukraine, but also have an impact on us,” he said.
Yenny said that there are three challenges faced by mankind, namely technology, ecology, and ideology. Technological challenges change the pattern of human communication by making virtual reality a new reality. This has an impact on various aspects, including the loss of jobs. Even so, new opportunities emerge as a form of human adaptation. Ecological challenges include both natural and social aspects. Human-generated emissions have an impact on climate change that affects the environment, while conflicts, wars and resource problems drive people out of their homes. The ideological challenges arise in the form of a transnational movement that changes ideology by dividing society into a majority supremacy which causes conflict.
Another challenge facing Indonesia was highlighted by Bima Arya. In terms of the quality of human resources, the current national stunting prevalence rate is 24%, while the maximum WHO standard is 20%. This figure makes Indonesia ranked 115th out of 151 countries in the world. In addition, 75 thousand children have dropped out of school, 50% of whom have dropped out of primary school. Serious efforts are needed to overcome this nutrition and education problem. Furthermore, to achieve Golden Indonesia, it is not only knowledge that is prepared, but also character. The younger generation must think about preparing for the future, not just waiting for the future.
“The 2045 generation that can solve this challenge is the cosmopolitan generation. This generation has strong local roots, has a national-patriotic spirit, and can compete in the global era. This means that this generation understands the values of their ancestors, loves their nation without being fanatical about certain groups, and can keep up with world developments. We must instill that what we enjoy today is the result of the efforts of our predecessors and what we are doing today will be enjoyed by future generations,” said Bima Arya.
Meanwhile, Yenny saw the need for synergy in solving this challenge. Problems in Indonesia are not enough to be solved by “formal” leaders, but must also involve “informal” leaders. Formal leaders are people who have a mandate from the community through the political process to create prosperity through public policies, while informal leaders are people who have great influence in society, such as influencers, religious leaders, community leaders, humanitarian activists, and environmental activists.
“Young people and influencers must take part in becoming agents of change, especially agents of peace, namely agents who bring positive change in society,” said Yenny, who is also the Chair of the Indonesian Rock Climbing Federation.
Talking about change, the General Chair of Taruna Merah Putih, Maruarar Sirait, assessed that the younger generation needs to have positive components in themselves, such as values, morals, knowledge, theory, methods, character, and mentality. These seven components will lead youth to the golden generation of 2045. It is important for individuals to build super teams and collectivities, for example by taking part in campus organizations, such as Student Executive Boards. This is what brings big changes to society.
“As stated by Ir. Soekarno, ‘Give me ten youths, I will surely shake the world,’ the role of youth is humongous for Indonesia. Prospective leaders must have views that promote tolerance, respect diversity, brave & confident, and ready to accept the consequences of every choice,” said Maruarar, who is a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives for the 2014–2019 period.
