Youth were the backbone of the nation’s struggle for independence.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Ahmad Basarah has said that the Youth Pledge can be a projection of the future journey of the nation, including combating radicalism among youths.

"The declaration of Youth Pledge showed that our founding fathers had put forward the spirit of unity and integrity. They agreed to give up primordialism by accepting and respecting their diversity for the sake of the nation's future," he said in a written statement received here on Thursday.

According to him, the spirit of unity was indicated by the participants of the declaration who came from various ethnic groups and religions, including those of Chinese and Arab descent.

In addition, the place used as the location for the declaration belonged to a person of Chinese descent -- Sie Kong Liong, he pointed out. This means that from the beginning, Indonesia has been built on diversity, he said.

Moreover, the participants also agreed to use the Indonesian language as the national language, not the Javanese language, which was used by the majority of the population at the time or other local languages, he said.

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"The message of nationality has to be implemented continuously. As Indonesia’s next generation, the youths must continue to maintain the message," the assembly deputy speaker said.

However, nowadays, he said he is worried about radicalism which is spreading among Indonesian youths. The ideology is against the nation's values of unity and diversity, he added.

He noted that the phenomenon has been seen not only due to technological advancements which have made the world more open and connected, but also due to the lack of the youths’ understanding of their own national history.

"As a result, they turn to other ideologies as alternatives," Basarah remarked.

He informed that from 2000 to 2020, 553 terror attacks were reported throughout Indonesia and many of them were carried out by young perpetrators.

According to data from the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), in February 2017, more than 52 percent of terror inmates were young people aged 17-34 years.

The agency also said that radicalism had entered the education sector, including colleges.

BNPT’s findings were in line with the results of a survey conducted by the Jakarta State Islamic University in 2018 on the religious attitudes of school and madrasa (Islamic school) teachers in Indonesia.

The survey had found that 50.87 percent of respondents from a total of 2,237 teachers (1,811 school teachers and 426 madrasa teachers) had radical and intolerant opinions.

"Youth were the backbone of the nation’s struggle for independence. Hence, the current young generation also has to inherit the spirit of the Youth Pledge, and not waste the sacrifices of the nation’s heroes,” the assembly deputy speaker emphasized.

They have to firmly protect the unity of the Republic of Indonesia from the threat of radicalism and terrorism, he added.

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Translator: Laily Rahmawaty, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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