MPR Calls on Youth to Help Safeguard Development on National Awakening Day

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono (Ibas), has urged the youth, especially students, to help safeguard national development on the occasion of National Awakening Day, observed every 20 May. In a statement from Jakarta on Wednesday, Ibas encouraged the younger generation to actively oversee the government through constructive criticism, to maintain unity, to strive for justice, and to ensure that every policy leads to the welfare of the people. “National Awakening Day is not only about defending the nation’s philosophy, but about how we understand the meaning of education and participate in safeguarding development so that it upholds unity, justice, and national welfare,” he said. Ibas stated that the ultimate goal of national development is the creation of public welfare. Therefore, development must be capable of delivering a life that is smarter, more educated, and strengthening Indonesia’s position as a developed and sovereign country. He argued that the quality of human resources is the key to realising that aspiration. He reminded that true education does not only shape intellectual intelligence but also moral maturity and character. “You must be a moral compass for yourselves. True education is education that forms a person not only intelligent but also morally and behaviourally mature,” he said. In addition to safeguarding development, he also encouraged the younger generation to be present as solutions to various national problems. Students were asked to become drivers and clarifiers of information among the people. “This country is too vast to be run by one group; we can only advance if we move forward together,” Ibas said. In connection with National Awakening Day 2026, Ibas on Monday (18 May) was a keynote speaker at a national seminar entitled “Learn Now, Act Tomorrow, Carve a Great Future: The Golden Generation Build the Nation”. The seminar was attended by hundreds of students from various higher education institutions, including Muhammadiyah Islamic Studies Institute (Isimu) Pacitan, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Pertahanan, State Islamic University Jakarta, and Jakarta State University.