Facts Behind The Political Participation Of The Indonesian Millennial Generation

Illustration. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

Political participation in the 2024 election will be dominated by the younger generation (Milenial and Gen Z). Supported by BPS (Central Statistics Agency) data in 2021 regarding the total population of Indonesia, 53.81 percent are Millennials and Gen Z.

Even though they are the majority, they are known as generations who do not really show strong political participation. Is that true? Let's understand Millennial Generation and Gen Z's political participation based on the data.

In 2022, the IDN Research Institute together with Populix conducted a research entitled Indonesia Millennial Report to examine views, habits, and values that influence millennial respondents to make a decision on their lives.

From the survey, data shows that the majority of respondents, 77 percent, have a good view on the direction of political conditions in Indonesia. As many as 49 percent of respondents thought that Indonesia's political conditions were not good, but they were confident that this condition would lead to a better one. Then, 27 percent of Millennial respondents thought Indonesia's political conditions were good and would move in a better direction.

Meanwhile, 10 percent of respondents thought the current conditions were good enough and would actually move worse in the future. Only 15 percent of Millennial respondents think that the current condition is not good and will even get even worse in the future.

In conclusion, the majority of Millennials have an optimistic view of the political future in Indonesia. This optimism arises because Millennial respondents believe that there are important values that are getting stronger in Indonesian politics.

Millennials have their own choice in seeing potential leaders who are appropriate for the country of Indonesia. The following are 4 values that Indonesian leaders must have according to Millennial respondents:- 82 percent of Millennial respondents prioritize the vision and mission of a leader-82 percent of Millennial respondents agree that the political participation of leaders with high integrity and non-corruption is highly expected to attend the 2024-Political Experience is considered important by 73% of Millennial respondents- For 62 percent of Millennial respondents, the background leader is important

From the explanation above, it is clear what value a leader is looking for by Millennian Generation respondents. There are 5 of the most popular political figures according to the choice of Millennial respondents, including:

Ganjar Pranowo This figure has been active in the world of Indonesian politics since 2004 at Commission IV of the DPR-RI and has the highest popularity of 18 percent. The figure of Ganjar Pranowo is also known as a politician who is familiar and often communicates with the public using Twitter social media.

Joko WidodoPopularity of Joko Widodo's politics is caused by his background as an ordinary person who is a wood entrepreneur. His political career began when Jokowi was elected Deputy Mayor of Surakarta or Solo in 2005. Joko Widodo has 16 percent popularity.

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto is a political figure with a strong military background. His career began as a soldier of the Indonesian Army Kopassus, until he succeeded in occupying the position of Commander General Kopassus, to the Kostrad Commander. Currently Prabowo has a level of popularity of 14 percent.

Anies Baswedan Anies Baswedan has a strong background in education because he received a scholarship for a master's program in the United States in 1996 and became Chancellor of Paramadina University in 2007. Currently Anies Baswedan has a popularity rate of 11 percent.

Ridwan Kamilwan Kamil is a political figure who started his professional work in the field of architecture. After receiving a master's degree from California University, Berkeley, he became a non-permanent lecturer for 14 years at ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology). Currently Ridwan Kamil has a popularity rate of 10 percent.

It can be seen at a glance from the profile of the figures above that each figure starts a political career at different momentums. Although each figure has his own experience and achievements, the popularity gained is influenced by other things, namely the political marketing strategy.

Political Marketing is interpreted as an entire strategy to build the persona, show attitude, promote vision and mission, gain public sympathy, and other activities that are carried out to become figures chosen by the majority of the community when the general election is held.

Although specifically widely used for political activities such as general elections, political marketing science is actually commonly found in business strategies as well as marketing campaigns. Therefore, political marketing skills are not only useful for people who want to become politicians, but also for people who want to understand consumer behavior for their business success strategy.

If you are interested in exploring political marketing, then pursuing a formal master's degree education in the Political Science program can be a place to start. In addition, there is also a master-class online course program, namely Mini MBA Political Marketing, which is a Kunie collaboration program with SBM ITB and LSI (Indonesian Survey Corps).