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View all search results'Rhizomatic' movements help youth voice political messages
Alternative movements based in cultural spaces, among other places, may help young people to express their political stance and understand more about today’s politics, although experts argue more work is necessary to push for changes in the system.
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Concertgoers dance during punk band Dongker's performance at Plaza Kalibaru in Cilincing, North Jakarta on Oct. 10, 2026. For the performance, the band charged attendants 2 kilograms of rice and a book. (Antara/Fauzan)
W
hile many young Indonesians have taken to the streets to press their concerns on the government, others are choosing decentralized movements, making their politics known through alternative spaces such as cultural outlets, amid a shrinking civic space.
Dongker, a punk band from Bandung, West Java, is one of the loudest examples. Formed by students of the Bandung Institute of Technology’s School of Art and Design (FSRD ITB), the band has spent years including anti-institutional material in its performances.
For example, the band’s vocalist and guitarist Delpi Suhariyanto told The Jakarta Post that on stage he often urges audiences not to pay taxes to a government that he regards as corrupt, using very strong language to drive his point home.
One of Dongker’s recent shows was on Oct. 10 at Plaza Kalibaru in Cilincing, North Jakarta, marking the band’s third performance in a run of gigs in public spaces. Entry to the performance cost 2 kilograms of rice and a book.
When a generator caught fire mid-set, the crowd of thousands remained and turned on their phone flashlights, illuminating the band as it continued to perform acoustically.
By the end of the night, 4,000 books were collected to be distributed to the local community, while the rice went to communities with a waste bank to be exchanged for plastic waste.
Jim Alberka, a member of the Dago Elos Resistance Forum who helped design the gig format, said the band wanted to avoid the “Santa Claus trap”, where the giver is seen as nobler than the receiver.
