JP/6/MAX

JP/6/MAX

Age discrimination: Setback
in Indonesian politics

Against "pemuda": Generational discrimination in contemporary
politics

Max Lane
Visiting Fellow
Center for Asia Pacific
Social Transformation Studies
University of Wollongong
New South Wales
Australia

First president Sukarno was 27 when he became chairperson of
the Indonesian National Party (PNI) in the 1930s. Mohammad Hatta
was of a similar age when he took over the leadership of the PNI
a little later. Sukarno and Hatta were the central figures of the
independence movement when they were in their 20s. The mass of
Indonesians were ready for them to lead an independent Indonesia
even when they were that age.

Of course, they were older, in their early 40s, when they did
assume leadership of an independent Indonesia in 1945. But they
were acceptable as leaders long before that. It was repression by
the Dutch colonial powers exiling Sukarno, Hatta and other
figures that delayed their assumption of the nation's leadership.

Both before the Aug. 17 1945 proclamation of independence,
during the guerrilla and diplomatic struggle of 1945-1949, and
during the next 16 years of nation building, young people
provided the energy and the spirit (semangat) that ensured
advances in the struggles of the people.

The word semangat took on a special weight in the new
political culture. There was a strong consciousness that society
could advance only by struggle, by the mobilization of the
energies of the mass of ordinary people in achieving the goals of
independence and then nation-building.

The role of youth and spirit was further symbolized when the
then older Sukarno and Hatta were kidnapped by younger members of
the independence movement a few days before the official
proclamation of Aug. 17, when Sukarno and Hatta hesitated to
proclaim independence.

Even during the feudal period, it was extremely young figures
that brought major change. Ken Arok was 20 when he overthrew
slavery under Tunggul Ametung in Java and confronted the empire
of Kediri.

Thirty years of New Order politics appears, however, to have
obliterated any recognition of the energy, vitality and most
importantly, ideas and analysis, that youth can provide in
political leadership. In fact, the political culture created
during the New Order and still prevailing today seems to turn
completely against all the best traditions of Indonesian history.

Today, to stand for the position of President of Indonesia, an
individual must virtually be over 40 years of age. Apart from
being a clear violation of the democratic rights of any citizen
under the age of 40, this provision eliminates from candidacy
some of the most dynamic figures in Indonesian society and
politics.

It also rejects any leadership from a sector of the population
that comprises more than 70 percent of the population.
Furthermore, it has been this sector of society, especially
represented by students, that have been motor for change during
the last four decades. Every wave of reform since 1972 has been
driven by the student movement. A prominent figure, such as the
labor leader Dita Sari, who has won international recognition as
a trade union and women's leader, could not stand as a candidate
for president.

Even for the position of Governor there is age discrimination.
To be a governor, a candidate must be 30 years of age. One
important political outcome of the student opposition to the
Soeharto regime during the 1990s was the formation of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PRD), a small party, but one that has also won
respect for its consistency on democratic issues. The PRD
considered putting forward a candidate for the position of
Jakarta Governor up against former military commander of Jakarta
during the Soeharto period, Sutiyoso. They selected woman student
leader, Zelly Ariane, who had led some of the mass actions in
Sumedang and Bandung against Golkar during the presidency of
Abdurrahman Wahid. She was later elected to head the PRD in the
Jakarta area. But she could not proceed with her registration as
a candidate; she is only 22.

The discrimination against age goes beyond the laws on
candidacy for President and Governor. During the New Order the
whole phenomenon of the rebelliousness and energy of youth, of
semangat, was suppressed. Within the repressive, corruption
driven, highly bureaucratized and feudalistic New Order political
culture, active young people were patronizingly referred to as
children. One often hears phrases like: Anak-anak LBH (Legal Aid
Office), anak-anak mahasiswa and so on.

During the struggle for independence and for nation-building ,
active young people struggling for change were never referred to
as anak-anak. Then they were pemuda, which literally means youth,
but inferring that they are at the forefront of struggle and
change. The word pemuda resonated actual political power. The
national revolution is often referred to as the revolusi pemuda.

Now pemuda are "children". Sometimes when these new pemuda,
the student leaders and organizers of the 1990s, gain popularity,
the now over 40 political elite that monopolizes politics, may
refer to them with a phrase like "good, idealistic children". But
the inference is always that they are not really mature. In fact,
there is often the implication that maturity means surrendering
spirit and idealism.

Even within pro-democracy circles, among non governmental
organizations and so on, this prejudice can exist. Activists
denigrate the PRD, for example, because it is a "student party"
with nobody "of any age" in its leadership. And generally there
is a deference to the more aged political elite even while at the
same time attacking this same elite as being politically and
intellectually bankrupt.

At this time in Indonesian history, if any discrimination is
necessary, it should be against those who are over 40. The
campaign today for democratic and social reform, for reformasi or
reformasi total, is almost entirely an effort by people under 40,
with just a few special exceptions. Reformasi is a project of
those sections of society free of the New Order political
culture; and this means, more or less, people under 40.

How can reformasi possibly take place if those who are its
energy are excluded from the top leadership positions of the
government and are not the dominant force in the legislature? How
can there possibly be reformasi until at least 70 percent of
legislators are under 40?

Society should be on the look-out for "student parties" or
youth parties, rather than looking down upon them.

In the end, the formal discrimination against youth is a
measure to protect the political dominance of the New Order
generation. Of course, there are people over 40 who fought
against Soeharto. And there are people under 40 who still have a
New Order mentality. But the reality is that reformasi is an idea
from the youth, was fought for by the youth, and it was youth
that paid the supreme sacrifice such as at the Trisakti shooting
in May 1998.

The spirit of the youth (semangat pemuda) won the end of the
New Order more than anything else. But it appears that the
current political elite, all coming from the New Order political
culture, want to make sure that youth spirit plays no part in
leading the nation or governing the country.