Deadly youth brawls spark concerns in Indonesia, but can such violence be stopped?

CNA

28-05-2025

MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES = MORE BRAWLS, SAY EXPERTS
Youth brawls and hooliganism are hardly unique to Indonesia and are complex problems that have persisted for generations, experts told CNA.
Ichsan Malik, a lecturer on peace and conflict resolution from the Indonesia Defense University in Bogor, West Java, said the first brawl reported by a national newspaper was one involving high school students in Jakarta in 1968.
He said a brawl in Indonesia is commonly understood to involve the use of weapons. If no weapon is used, in Indonesia, it is usually labelled a fight.
Brawls are more common among high school students because it is during adolescence when one is forming one's identity, which may manifest in the teenagers being 'more easily frustrated and aggressive', said Ichsan.
The brawl in Depok involving primary school students could have happened because children nowadays are exposed to many things from an early age with the rise of social media, said Ichsan.
Educational expert Doni Koesoema from Multimedia Nusantara University in Tangerang, Banten, said that brawls also took place when he was in junior high school in Surabaya in 1986.
However, the brawls in those days were not so violent, he said.
In the past, brawls tended to happen between students from different schools in Indonesia but, these days, they also happen between groups of young adults from different neighbourhoods, said sociologist Bagong Suyanto from Surabaya's Airlangga University.
He shared Ichsan's view that brawls tend to happen more in marginalised or poor, homogeneous neighbourhoods with unemployment or poor employment prospects.
Parts of Manggarai sub-district in Jakarta, for instance, are notorious for brawls between residents from different neighbourhoods, which have taken place for decades.
According to informal parking attendant Muhammad Lutfi, 24, who is a resident there, the brawls have become more frequent since the area became busier with the revamp of Manggarai train station in recent years.
Fights these days are usually due to tussles over who gets to work informally at a particular commercial space or the quest for domination in a certain area, he said.
The rise of online shopping has also made weapons such as machetes and knives more accessible, said Lutfi.
Lutfi himself became caught in a tussle earlier this month.
He was taking a nap at a parking lot on the evening of May 4 when more than a dozen young people came storming towards him and hit his head with a sickle.
'I think the brawl here happened because they want to work as a parking attendant or earn money,' said Lutfi, who was rescued by others at the parking lot who intervened and took him to the hospital.
He was left with a scar on his head from the attack.
POLICE PATROLS AND OTHER MEASURES
Brawls among youths or students escalate when enforcement is lax, said Ichsan.
For years, no real solution has been introduced to eradicate the violence, but several authorities have recently vowed to tackle the problem.
Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Arifah Fauzi said the brawling children in Depok were victims of an inadequate system, and her ministry would ensure they undergo mentoring.
'All Indonesian children are our children who should be in a safe environment … We all certainly agree that brawls involving elementary school-aged children are a violation of the basic principles of child protection,' said Arifah on May 12.
Following the incident, the students, their parents, teachers and the police met at one of the schools on May 15.
The students signed a statement saying they would not take part in brawls again.
Taking a religious and cultural approach is Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, who wants to introduce a programme called Manggarai Bershalawat, which means 'Manggarai praying for blessings'.
"People who are fighting, having disagreements, must have a reason. What is the main cause? The main cause must be sought,' said Pramono last Friday (May 23) during a prayer session where he also launched the programme in Manggarai.
'One of them is that the youth's energy here is not being channelled properly. There are no sports facilities,' he said, handing out badminton and futsal equipment for the sub-district's residents' use.
NO SINGLE SOLUTION
Experts said more needs to be done to tackle the complex problem, with Donie of Multimedia Nusantara University saying students should undergo character-building programmes.
Schools can also take a clear stance against hooliganism.
A Jakarta high school counselling teacher, Citra Septiya, said students at her school have not been involved in brawls since 2019 because the school is firm: Those caught will be expelled.
'Brawls can result in physical injuries to death, create trauma for victims and people around them who are affected, and tarnish the image of the school,' said Citra.
Schools must thus be strict and monitor their students closely, she said.
Under Indonesia's laws, especially on the use of weapons against civilians, perpetrators of brawls should also be punished, said experts.
Most of the time, the law is not enforced consistently enough to create a deterrent effect, said Ichsan, the lecturer on peace and conflict resolution.
A genuine commitment is needed at all levels to implement and monitor the programmes seeking to address youth brawls, he said.
'There needs to be a strong political will involving all stakeholders: The government, the police, the students, young adults, families involved and even the media.