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For millennials, personalities matter more than politics
The room at the Akmani Hotel in Central Jakarta was full of young faces, some of whom had trekked all the way up from Tangerang on a recent Sunday morning
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The room at the Akmani Hotel in Central Jakarta was full of young faces, some of whom had trekked all the way up from Tangerang on a recent Sunday morning.
“Good morning, brothers and sisters!” Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) member Dara Nasution’s voice rang out over the loudspeakers.
The barely two-year old party, billed as one made especially for millennials, insists on calling everyone “bro” or “sis,” eschewing the more conventional “pak” and “bu.” It helps that, as a matter of official party policy, the PSI does not have any members above the age of 40.
PSI’s gathering that morning might have been called a campaign event, were it not for the utter lack of political discussion.
Instead, it was something more like a public seminar, bringing in millennial-friendly faces, such as pop band vocalist and PSI member Giring Ganesha, YouTuber Gerald Sebastian and singer Teuku “Tompi” Adifitrian, to talk about the digital economy.
Attendees included university students and young professionals, many of them contemplating entrepreneurship.
A case in point was Rado. The recent university graduate and North Sumatra native said he wanted to open a business back in his hometown.
“My hometown is near Lake Toba, which has now become a major tourist destination. I think there’s a great opportunity for tourist businesses like homestays,” he said, adding that he hoped to use what he learned at the event to pursue his goal.
When asked about his thoughts on the PSI as a party, however, Rado demurred, saying he was not interested in politics.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) projects that the millennial vote will be over 40 million strong in 2019, thereby making up nearly half of the total voting population for the legislative and presidential elections.
Accordingly, Indonesia’s political parties are racing to court the millennial vote, but experts and members of the generation say they may have to shake up their game plans.
The PSI’s setting aside ideological platforms in favor of a youthful image and an appeal to personal economic gain may prove a winning strategy.
A recent survey about millennials’ political orientation conducted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) showed that employment ranked first among the generation’s greatest concerns.
Newer political parties with nationally recognized figures, such as Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party and Hary Tanoesudibjo’s Perindo, also did significantly better among millennials than among the older generations.
By contrast, Indonesia’s oldest parties — Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the United Development Party (PPP) — underperformed.
Political observer Fachry Ali told The Jakarta Post that for millennials, political parties “belong to the past.”
“They do not consider parties part of their lives,” he said. “A party’s actions has no impact on their day-to-day activities.”
He said that, sociologically, the individualistic millennial generation was diametrically opposed to the communal concept of political parties.
“Providing support to relatively young and charismatic figures is the only thing that will make parties relevant again,” he said.
Rizky Aji Pratama, a 22-year-old recent graduate from Parahyangan University in Bandung, West Java, confirmed Fachry’s comments, saying he did not consider himself a loyalist of any party.
“For 2019, I will probably vote for the PDI-P, but only reluctantly. I’ll vote for them not because of the PDI-P itself, but because of Jokowi,” he said, referring to the current president and PDI-P member Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
He said that, in general, political parties with their lack of young faces held no appeal for him.
Malisa Ladin, a 24-year-old graduate from Semarang, said that, even among classmates in her political science course, there was a distinct lack of party support.
She herself said she would most likely vote for the PDI-P in 2019, but added that, like Rizky, it was more about Jokowi than anything else.
“I think that right now, among people of our age, it’s figures like Jokowi that are important,” she said. “Parties that have recognizable figures do better than parties like Golkar that have none.”
Achmad Multazam, a 25-year-old radio host in Jakarta, said he initially supported the Golkar Party in 2014, because of his admiration for then-chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
Despite Bakrie’s less-than-stellar reputation — in 2006, a mining company he owned triggered a disastrous mud flow in Sidoarjo, East Java — Achmad said he was inspired by the businessman.
“He is a very successful entrepreneur, and I thought I could learn a lot from him,” he said.
But Golkar’s failure to back Bakrie as a presidential candidate soured Achmad on the party, and he now sees political parties in general as outdated institutions.
“These parties are considered sacred, so I guess we can’t totally destroy them,” he said, laughing. “But maybe we could just purge the ranks and start again with young people.” (kmt)
