Will Indonesia Young Voters use their power to shift to a more Sustainable Indonesia?

Counting months toward the Indonesia presidential election held in February 2024, many have declared names to be candidates for Indonesia Presidential Election. Looking at the previous cycle, the momentum will be a great opportunity for Indonesians to communicate their aspirations–including demand to become more sustainable. Since this world pressing issue (sustainability) is not only imperative to the government but also business and surely influences individual day to day life, will this concern relevance for the upcoming 2024 presidential election in Indonesia to attract especially those, the youth?

How powerful are Indonesia ‘s young voters to shift Indonesia’s future to be more sustainable?

As predicted by CSIS through their survey in August 2022 (Rilis Survei Pemilih Muda dan Pemilu 2024: Dinamika dan Preferensi Sosial Politik Pasca Pandemi), youth will have the highest portion of voter population accounted for about 54% with increasing numbers of participation from election in 2014 (85.9%) to 2019 (91.3%) as per katadata.id. Which means, young voters (age: 15-39), Z generation (age 17-23) and Millennial generation (age 24-39), have huge opportunities to bargain with their demand– including to embrace and emphasize Indonesia sustainability needs since the decisions made by them today will have a profound impact on their future as well as their planet.

Indonesian youth would likely vote for a candidate having vision on environmental issues, employment, democracy and corruption.

Source: CSIS (2022)

As per the data above, although environmental issues may only have 2.3% of priority in mind as compared to other issues such as public welfare (44.4%), employment (21.3%) and corruption (15.9%), but when they were asked on whether or not it is urgent to solve climate change problem, the majority (76.9%) agreed that it is strongly urgent– showing their concern on the issue that led to their candidate choice. Therefore, leader comprehension on sustainability agenda becomes more and more important nowadays considering that the field covers three fundamental issues, namely: environment, social and economic. Unlike an unsustainable one, a candidate having a long-term sustainability mindset as demanded by young voters may have a strategy not only to try to adapt and mitigate climate change but also see opportunity in it as a good investment for its people. Not only viewing it from an environmental and social responsibility perspective but also finding its economical value as a way to adapt and compete in the market.

How comprehensive is the sustainability vision and agenda of your preferred candidate ?

Comprehension on Economic Resilience

Børge Brende and Bob Sternfel wrote in collaborative report by World Economic Forum and Mckinsey (2022) on Resilience for sustainable, inclusive growth that

“Resilience should be seen as the ability to deal with adversity, withstand shocks, and continuously adapt and accelerate as disruptions and crises arise over time.”

“Resilience has been described as the ability to recover quickly but recovery alone is not an adequate goal. Truly resilient organizations bounce back better and even thrive.”

The world’s unprecedented challenges such as Covid-19, Russia-Ukraine War, and others have given us an alarm on the importance of economic resilience. In addition to that, a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also highlights that “this economic resilience involves preventing the build-up of potential vulnerabilities, preparing to absorb shocks when they occur, and engineering a swift rebound from those shocks”.

The committed candidate ought to have more awareness of a resilient economy, as she/he will think of long-term economic resilience– knowing the world’s transition to invest in more sustainable economic practices. At G20 Indonesia 2022 for example, we can see the shifting of more demanding environmentally sustainable business in Indonesia when Andre Soeltyo as CEO of GoTo Group highlights their business transformation in the news published by Jakarta Post.

At  the same time, we have always believed that progress must go hand-in-hand with building a sustainable future. To this end, GoTo has committed to transition 100 percent of our driver partners’ fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 with the support of our joint-venture company, Electrum. This effort supports the Indonesian government’s target to reach 31.89 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, which is to be achieved in part by transition to EVs. This conversion also benefits Gojek driver-partners by way of lowering their running and maintenance cost by up to 30 percent.”

Thus, young voters may question a candidate who tends to invest in the opposite direction, if doing so is for the benefit of them. Or to question, whether or not the action is intended for the greatest good of her/his people?

Comprehension on Social Justice and Equity

How can social justice and equity be built?  Nowadays, surrounded by uncertainty and complex challenges, as mindful voters, choosing a resilient presidential candidate who knows how social resilience is interlinked with business and economic influencing growth is a must. Learning from Covid-19, the pandemic has created a bigger gap on inequality. According to SMERU’s research, data shows that Indonesia’s poverty rate increased during the pandemic– from 9.2% (2019) to 10.19% (2020). In result, the poor have sold their assets and reduced their expenditure in order to build mechanisms to meet their daily needs. A just and equal sustainable economy, therefore, should create an inclusive economic growth.

”Growth is sustainable insofar as it supports the health and repair of the natural environment; it is inclusive when it meaningfully improves the livelihood of wider population segments.”

(Børge Brende and Bob Sternfel, McKinsey)

As such, a candidate having a more sustainable agenda would know how to address inequality by preventing and preparing policy safeguard for Indonesian.

Comprehension on Environmental Challenges

Will Indonesia keep its growth with the fact of its natural resource depletion?  Known as the country with the world’s most biodiversity, Indonesia is also facing environmental depletion. What we cannot deny is that decades ago, (and until now) we still relied mostly on exploiting our natural resources to feed our people and fuel the development of our country.

“We realize that the degradation of environmental quality has [reached a] critical level. We need to develop a proper policy and strategy starting from now. It’s time for us from now on to consider the carrying capacity [of our resources].” Bambang Brodjonegoro, Indonesia’s minister for national development planning With a total labor force of 138,119,194 (2021)– about 28% employment comes from the Agricultural sector. This number has gradually fallen to about 40% from about 68% in 1976 (Jakarta Post). Due to destructive, illegal and uncontrolled resources extraction practices happened. Taking UNCCD research as an example, despite an abundance of coastal resources, more than 53% of coastal families are living below the poverty line. This finding was also approved by ADB’s report saying that degraded land in Indonesia is about 78 million hectares, consists of slightly degraded (48 million ha), degraded (23 million ha), and highly degraded (7 million ha). Many coastal regions are already over-exploited, their mangrove forests are degraded, and the fish catch has exceeded sustainable levels.

In fact, environmental challenges have affected people’s livelihoods, public health, and the country’s sustainable development. Without a presidential candidate having a clear plan in addressing these issues, not only will it cost the country’s development but also the commitment as a responsible global citizen in global sustainability efforts.

A call to Action

The upcoming 2024 presidential election in Indonesia presents a crucial opportunity for youth to prioritize presidential candidates whose agenda emphasize sustainability vision–to contribute and benefit from a more sustainable Indonesia. Embracing sustainability will lead them to resilience more in social justice and equity, in the economy, and in overcoming environmental challenges.

Novia Fadhilla Sari
Novia Fadhilla Sari
A young entrepreneur Novia Fadhilla Sari (Novia) is currently managing a consultancy business called Mockingbird Consultant--Exploring human potential through coaching. Whilst now she is also a master degree candidate on Sustainability Management in a dual degree program held by Universitas Gadjah Mada and Agder University.