Ibas Receives PATRIA Audience, Pushes for Strengthening Democracy and Welfare
Deputy Chairman of the MPR RI, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono (Ibas), received an audience from the General Chairman and board members of the Indonesian Catholic University Students Association Alumni Association (PATRIA) at the DPR RI complex. The audience served as a dialogue space between parliament and civil society elements in strengthening values of unity, democracy, and inclusive development.
In his remarks, Ibas appreciated the state’s official recognition of PATRIA as a forum for alumni of the Indonesian Catholic University Students Association (PMKRI).
“This is not just organisational legitimacy, but also a strengthening of the national role. PMKRI alumni are present as a moral, intellectual, and social force in building Indonesia,” Ibas stated in his comments on Tuesday (7/4/2026).
Ibas, who is also the Chairman of the Democratic Party Faction in the DPR RI, conveyed that the audience carried the theme ‘PATRIA-Parliament Synergy: Harmony, Democracy, Welfare’. The theme reflects three main values that must continue to be maintained and strengthened together: harmony, democracy, and welfare.
According to him, harmony is an important foundation in maintaining national unity amid diversity. “We live in plurality. Differences are a strength, not a weakness. PATRIA has an important role in nurturing pluralism and unity,” he expressed.
On that occasion, Ibas stated that democracy is not only understood as an electoral process, but also as an ongoing effort to listen to and advocate for the people’s aspirations.
“Democracy is a process of listening to, overseeing, and advocating for the people’s aspirations. Here, the role of parliament and alumni organisations becomes very strategic,” explained the member of the East Java VII electoral district.
Furthermore, Ibas emphasised that the ultimate goal of all national processes is the people’s welfare. “Policies must be pro-people, development must be fair, and the results must be felt by all of society,” he asserted.
Encouraging PATRIA to Become a Critical Partner and Agent of Change
In this audience, Ibas also highlighted the important role of PATRIA alumni as an educated group with extensive networks in various sectors. He encouraged PATRIA to take on the role of guardian of values, critical partner, and driver of solutions for the nation.
“PATRIA must become a guardian of values, critical partner, and agent of change in national and state life,” he said.
Ibas conveyed that the Democratic Party Faction is open to collaboration with PATRIA, particularly in absorbing public aspirations, formulating inclusive public policies, and overseeing development programmes to ensure they hit the mark.
“We want to build a bridge from society to parliament, from ideas to policies,” he stated.
In his remarks, Ibas also appreciated various PATRIA programmes in improving human resource quality, such as UMKM workshops, education and academic works, financial literacy, health, environmental living, and national cadre schools.
Ibas also invited all PATRIA alumni to actively contribute to maintaining unity, strengthening democracy, and advocating for social justice.
“This nation needs more good people who not only criticise, but also provide solutions. Not only think, but also act,” he expressed.
Meanwhile, the General Chairman of the PATRIA DPP for 2025-2030, Agustinus Tamo Mbapa, conveyed his organisation’s commitment to promoting a national ecological movement, namely the One Million Trees Movement. This movement involves thousands of points across Indonesia as a tangible contribution to the environment.
On the other hand, PATRIA board representative, Ibnu Kurniawan, proposed community-based waste management solutions. Because according to him, the programme is relatively affordable and can be widely implemented in society.
“What if every neighbourhood unit has a smokeless waste management unit, so it can burn itself, grow itself,” he stated.
Real Programmes and DPR Support
Various contributions and aspirations from PATRIA received positive responses from Democratic Party Faction members of the DPR RI, one of whom is Marwan Cik Asan. He affirmed that these initiatives align with the Democratic Party’s struggle values and open opportunities for future collaboration.
In agreement, Rizki Natakusumah assessed that PATRIA’s programmes have real impacts. “The programmes are extraordinary, seeing the extraordinary training programmes, including tree planting,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hillary Brigitta Lasut expressed her optimism about these programmes. “I believe and trust that when Catholics gather and strive for something, it can certainly be realised soon.”
Concrete support was also conveyed by Sabam Sinaga, who encouraged strengthening the education sector. He also stated his support for the education literacy programme championed by PATRIA.
“We are initiating to provide 14 Indonesia Pintar Programmes (scholarships) for PATRIA. The scheme can be discussed later,” he revealed.
Closing the response session, Zulfikar Suhadi emphasised the importance of cross-party collaboration in national development. He also affirmed that synergy between civil society and parliament is key to delivering policies with broad impact.
“The more collaboration from various parties, the more advanced Indonesia will be,” he concluded.
For information, this audience was also attended by several Democratic Party Faction members, including Marwan Cik Asa, Rizki Natakusumah, Benny K. Harman, Sabam Sinaga, Hillary Brigitta Lasut, and Zulfikar Suhadi, as well as PATRIA PMKRI members and board from various regions.
Through this meeting, it is hoped that sustainable synergy will be built between PATRIA and parliament in strengthening democracy and realising the welfare of the Indonesian people.