'More than half Indonesian youths face radicalisation risks'
65 percent of youths aren't nationalistic, says radicalisation expert.
JAKARTA: More than half of Indonesian youths are not nationalistic and face the risk of radicalisation by violent extremist doctrine, said a radicalisation expert.
Ulta Levenia Nababan, the founder of Millennials for Defence and Security (Mapan), a youth movement, said the problem with Indonesian youths at this moment is that 65 percent of them are not nationalistic and do not see Pancasila or the Indonesian state philosophy as important.
“This can become a green light for ISIS-like doctrine to infiltrate youths,” she told SEA MILITANCY.
“I believe the most effective pre-emptive attempt to counter radicalism in Indonesia is through the inculcation of Pancasila as a state foundation from an early stage, so that youths are not easily triggered by much propaganda out there including ISIS and JI,” said Ulta.
She was using the abbreviation for Jamaah Islamiyah, a pro-al-Qaeda terror group in Indonesia, and an acronym for the Islamic Satte terror group.
Ulta cited a Populix survey on Oct. 4, 2023 on the 65-percent figure.
Ulta, who is the lead terrorism researcher at the Jakarta-based think tank Galatea, also emphasised that young people should not be complacent because the threat of division is lurking.
According to her, a commentary war on social media may inadvertently cause division if it is not based on mutual respect and tolerance between fellow religious believers.
"In times like this, we’re not facing bullets and tanks like in a conventional war but more terrifying tools. The manoeuvre is gentler but it divides our society, weakens the millennials," explained Ulta.
“My organisation is therefore for youths to be aware of geopolitics, threats and national security and the prevention of radicalisation through strengthening the Pancasila or national foundation values.”