JAKARTA - The 2026 South Arena student boxing event is considered a new way to reduce violence among students. In the midst of rampant fights, bullying, and provocations through social media, sports are seen as more effective in diverting the energy of teenagers to a space with rules.
Member of the Indonesian Parliament Bambang Soesatyo (Bamsoet) said that the 2026 South Arena not only brings students together on the ring. This event also teaches discipline, emotional control, sportsmanship, and respect for opponents.
"Sports teaches that opponents in the arena are not enemies in life. After the match is over, they shake hands again, respect each other, and build relationships as friends," said Bamsoet at GOR Bulungan, Jakarta, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
The South Arena 2026 was opened by Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Taufik Hidayat. This event was attended by dozens of high school students from various schools with the supervision of coaches and official match officials.
Bamsoet considers activities like this to be important because student violence is increasingly worrying. Based on data from the National Criminal Information Center of the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency, as of the end of 2025 there were 21,945 children and adolescents under the age of 20 who faced the law. Most cases are related to violence, bullying, fights, and street crime.
Data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission also recorded 2,031 cases of child rights violations throughout 2025, with more than 2,063 children becoming victims. KPAI highlighted violence in the educational environment, the influence of social media, bullying, and fights that are increasingly brutal and organized through digital platforms.
"Social media is now often used for provocation, mocking each other, to organize fights. Therefore, the approach must also be modern," said Bamsoet.
According to him, raids and punishments alone are not enough to break the chain of student violence. Young people need a space that allows them to channel courage, prestige, and solidarity in a positive way.
Bamsoet said student boxing could be one of the options because it has strict rules. Students not only learn to attack and defend, but also accept defeat, control emotions, and respect the referee's decisions.
He assessed that these values are important to fight the culture of brawl which often grows from narrow solidarity between schools.
"We want to produce a young generation who are mentally strong, physically healthy, and socially mature," said Bamsoet.
According to Bamsoet, the 2026 South Arena shows that sports can be a unifying tool as well as a concrete way to suppress student fights that have long troubled the community.
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