Meeting Puan, Participants Of The 2023 Youth Parliament Complain It's Difficult To Become A Member Of The DPR

DPR Doc

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, received an audience of 6 role model members of the Youth Parliament in 2023. The Youth Parliament (Parja) is an annual DPR program as a means to teach politics and parliament to the younger generation because participants participated in the simulation as members of the DPR.

Puan's meeting with 6 supporting members of the Papuan Parliament in 2023 was held in her office at Nusantara III Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (15/8/2024). In this meeting, Puan was accompanied by Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the DPR Charles Honoris as one of the representatives of young DPR members.

"Thank you for participating in the Youth Parliament activities very well and safely because it has become the best participant. Hopefully, the experience can be useful for you," said Puan at the beginning of the meeting.

The Youth Parliament Program is intended for high school (SMA) and equivalent students. The Youth Parliament is attended by representatives of each electoral district (dapil), totaling 80 electoral districts in the selection of members of the DPR RI legislature in the 2019 election.

The 6 role models for the 2023 Youth Parliament participants who met Puan today were the 5 best participants, namely Muhammad Rivaldi Ka'bah (East Java VIII Dapil), Sapitah Widya Kirana (Central Java VIII), Dania Zahra Ayusti (Lampung I), Ni Made Cista Striratna (Bali I), Eugene Irwanto Willim (West Kalimantan I), and HugoMINA Hamdri (North Kalimantan) who were selected as the favorite participants.

The implementation of the 2023 Youth Parliament was carried out for 5 days on September 11-16 last year with a total of 128 participants. In 2023, the Youth Parliament activity took the theme Remaja Knows the Law: Obey the Rules, People Are Safe.

In Parja activities, all participants went through various series of role play activities (playing roles) like members of the DPR RI. They participated in simulations of sessions, work meetings, public hearings (RDPU), to work visits (kunkers) such as those carried out by members of the DPR. The participants were also provided with thematic seminars and orientation of general knowledge of parliament.

In today's meeting, Puan then asked about the experiences of 6 role models for the 2023 Youth Parliament. To Puan, Rivaldi admitted that he was very happy with Parja's activities and shared his experience when he simulated to be the chairman of the faction.

Then Ni Made Cista Striratna shared her experience when discussing the Problem Invetary List (DIM) when drafting the Law (RUU) to the experience of kunker to various DPR partners.

"It turns out that being a member of the DPR is tiring and tired. During the last implementation, some of my friends even fell asleep during (simulation) work meetings," said Cista.

Meanwhile, Eugene claimed to have new knowledge about the world of parliament after joining the Parja program. He also suggested that access to information about the DPR's performance be increased so that the public would know about the performance of the council considering that there were still various negative reports about the DPR.

"DPR is often considered not working, even though it turns out that everything needs procedures," he said.

Then Dania and Hugo stated that the most challenging thing when they simulated to become members of the DPR was when they had to face a lot of interruptions.

"It's hard because at the meeting all the interruptions," said Dania.

Karena kegiatan ini saya baru tahu kalau tugas DPR itu komple, termasuk saat menghadapi interupsi-interrupsi. Lalu juga harus mendengar masukan dari ahli- ahli. Dan tantangan lainnya pada saat melaksanakan simultanasi rapat karena banyak perbedaan, timpal Hugo.

In line with Hugo, Sabitah highlighted how the role of the DPR must be able to accommodate the interests of many parties in its duties. Starting from the preparation of legislation, budgeting, to carrying out the supervisory function of the Government.

The memorable experience felt is realizing that the DPR needs to listen to all inputs. "So I know that the decision-making process is not an easy thing," said Sabitah.

Listening to the experience of the participants of the 2023 Youth Parliament, Puan admitted that she was very happy because the DPR could share the experience of parliamentary work with the younger generation. Moreover, Rivaldi Cs admitted that Parja's activities made them motivated to get involved in politics in the future.

"Everyone is happy that they can become members of the DPR without a leg," said Puan jokingly greeted by laughter from the members of the 2023 Parja.

The first woman to serve as Chairman of the DPR then had various experiences while being a member of the council so far. Including when Puan was still the chairman of the faction, before finally becoming chairman of the DPR.

"All activities of members of the DPR RI are regulated in an orderly manner, the preparation of laws is not easy, and it is true that plunging into politics also requires flying hours," he explained.

"Being a member of the DPR RI needs to have the ability to convince others. Including the work visit activities carried out by members of the DPR, it is beneficial for the community," continued Puan.

Puan also understands when a member of Parja falls asleep during a meeting simulation, after a series of other activities.

"That's an illustration of the many activities carried out by members of the DPR RI, so fatigue is a human thing," said the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.

Regarding the information on the DPR's performance, Puan stated that the DPR had actually made various efforts to open information channels for the public. She also hopes that the participants of the Youth Parliament will participate in disseminating information about the DPR RI consistently so that information can be received by the public.

"The Youth Parliament is also a medium for the Indonesian House of Representatives in socializing the DPR's work mechanism. While here you can certainly see for yourself that it is not easy to become a representative of the people," explained Puan.

"Here, there are so many differences of opinion, but of course you also know that in the DPR RI we need to keep trying to find common ground. In a country like us, which is so diverse, then differences must be a source of strength, not even a source of division," he continued.

Puan hopes that Parja activities can also improve the competence of the younger generation. Especially related to literacy about politics and the democratic process because during the activities of participants it is also trained to be able to debate, develop basic values of leadership, and build critical thinking on the nation's problems in order to create solutions to simple problems around them.

"You are the future of the nation, continue to study diligently, never give up, and I will be very happy if later you can return to the DPR RI as a member of the Council," said Puan.

At the end of the hearing, Puan asked Charles Honoris to share his experience as a young member of the DPR. Charles was first elected as a member of the DPR when he was 30 years old.

"There is a difference between reality and perception about the DPR as previously stated by the participants of the 2023 Youth Parliament," said Charles.

"I am very impressed with the activities of the Youth Parliament. This activity can help the DPR to explain to the public what the DPR's work is like," he added.

The DPR will again hold the Youth Parliament program this year. In the 2024 Parja activities, there will be 134 participants who have been selected from all regions in Indonesia through a number of screening processes.

The implementation of the 2024 Youth Parliament will be held on September 9 -14 with the theme 'Smart Generation: Quality Education, Realizing Golden Indonesia'. Just like in previous years, the participants of the Youth Parliament will conduct simulations as members of the DPR.