MPR Deputy Speaker: Young Legislators Must Help Improve Democratic Quality
Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction, Eddy Soeparno, has called on young legislators to take a role in improving the quality of Indonesian democracy.
Eddy said the younger generation in parliament holds a strategic position to introduce new standards in the quality of legislation, oversight, representation, and the pursuit of the people’s will.
“Young legislators must be part of the effort to improve the quality of Indonesian democracy. We have the opportunity to build a parliamentary culture that is open, data-driven, responsive to public aspirations, and oriented towards problem-solving,” Eddy said in a statement on Thursday (20/8/2026).
He made the remarks during a dialogue themed “Strengthening the Leadership Capacity of Young Parliamentarians for Sustainable Democracy” organised by the Habibie Center.
Eddy further noted that Indonesian democracy already has a strong procedural foundation through regularly held elections and constitutional transfers of power. The next challenge, he said, is ensuring that democracy produces policies and institutional performance that are genuinely felt by the public.
“Our democracy should not stop at procedure. It is time for us to look at the urgency of quality democracy. Once the people have given their mandate, our job is to prove that the mandate produces better policies and a better life for the people,” he stressed.
On the occasion, Eddy also invited young legislators to push for a shift from procedural democracy to substantive democracy.
“Procedural democracy answers who votes and who is elected. Substantive democracy speaks about what is produced after the mandate is given. That is where the quality of our democracy will truly be tested,” he explained.
Eddy asserted that substantive democracy is reflected in the quality of public policy, the protection of people’s rights, the equalisation of opportunity, and the state’s ability to respond to various new challenges. In his view, issues such as climate change, energy transition, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, employment, and economic inequality require policies with a long-term perspective.
He assessed that young legislators have an advantage in bringing fresh perspectives to parliament. Therefore, their capacity needs to be continuously strengthened so they can understand the complexity of public issues and translate them into effective policies.
“Parties may differ and political choices may differ. We still share the same responsibility to safeguard democracy and ensure that parliament works in the interest of the people,” he said.
“If we want Indonesian democracy to grow stronger, let us start with parliament. Let us prove to the public that young legislators are capable of delivering better legislative quality, stronger parliamentary performance, and an increasingly substantive democracy,” Eddy concluded.
The event was also attended by young legislators of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) from various factions in parliament and was directly attended by the Chairman of the Habibie Center Board of Trustees, Ilham Habibie.