Bento Was Our Anthem, What Song Will Save Us Now?

TWENTY-seven years have passed since student voices reverberated through the streets of Jakarta, demanding sweeping reforms to dismantle the New Order regime. May 1998 remains a historic milestone, marking the moment when university students emerged as catalysts for change, toppling authoritarian power through sheer collective will.

Photo: Claudio Schwarz/Unsplash.

Their actions were not merely fueled by youthful idealism, but by a profound moral obligation to respond to a nation in crisis: economically, politically, and in terms of public trust. Students from across Indonesia converged on the capital with clear, uncompromising demands -- resign, prosecute corrupt officials, eradicate corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN), and initiate total reform.

Today, a sobering question arises: does that same spirit still course through the veins of students in 2025? Or has it been overtaken by the race to create digital content, secure foreign scholarships, and pursue personal ambition?

Admittedly, the times have changed. Students of 1998 learned politics under an oppressive regime. Their activism was shaped by intimidation and repression. In contrast, students in 2025 have grown up in a more open democracy, albeit one increasingly dominated by commercialization and individualism.

Some suggests that Gen Z is more politically engaged in micro-issues --such as the environment, gender equity, and mental health -- than in macro-issues like corruption and national economic policy.

This may explain the relative rarity of large-scale student demonstrations today except in reaction to viral controversies like the criminal code revision or the Job Creation Law. More often, student criticism emerges as long Twitter threads, YouTube explainers, or educational TikToks.

Is this a new form of resistance -- an evolution of the struggle? Possibly. But a movement without mass mobilization may lack the critical mass needed to challenge entrenched structures of power.

Back in 1998, Scorpions’ “Wind of Change” became an unofficial anthem of the reform era: “The future's in the air / I can feel it everywhere / Blowing with the wind of change.”

But what would be the anthem of student activism in 2025? Could it be OneRepublic’s Counting Stars, with lyrics like: “Lately I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep / Dreaming about the things that we could be”?

Perhaps that captures today’s restlessness. The context has changed, but the will to resist has not vanished. Across the archipelago, students continue to fight against illegal mining, local corruption, and environmentally destructive development projects.

In Papua, student groups have long championed human rights. In Kalimantan, they resist land dispossession under the pretext of national development. Yet these efforts often go unreported, drowned in a sea of trending content and algorithmic noise.

To be fair, the spirit of 1998 was rooted in collective energy. Students sang “Bento” together, wrote poetry together, and slept in tents together. That solidarity, born of shared hardship, gave the movement its power.

Students in 2025 may seem more individualistic. They publish solo op-eds, produce independent podcasts, and build their own digital brands. Is that a problem?

Not necessarily. But history has shown that collective movements are more likely to create structural change. In today’s complex landscape, we may no longer need weekly street protests. Yet we still need shared awareness -- and a united response -- to glaring inequality and injustice.

Corruption still persists. Collusion and nepotism remain deeply embedded in the nation’s political fabric. And the reform movement --once waged with blood, sweat, and tears -- remains incomplete.

Ironically, some political elites from the New Order era now occupy positions of power, as though history is looping back on itself.

We must do more than romanticize 1998. We must translate its spirit into forms that suit our time. The reformist spirit must evolve into critical discourse, into sharp digital literacy, into meaningful policy interventions.

Today’s students cannot merely echo past heroism. They must invent new tools and tactics that respond to today’s challenges. In an era where oligarchs moonlight as political influencers and democracy is distorted by algorithms and buzzers, resistance must take new shapes.

To remain relevant and impactful, student activism must embrace a new arsenal that is data-informed advocacy, strong digital literacy, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the art of persuasive storytelling -- each wielded with clear purpose and strategic focus.

If the students of 1998 shouted through megaphones, those of 2025 can speak through viral threads, stirring documentaries, or politically charged rap. Reform is not a slogan. It is a living spirit. And that spirit must be passed down, not just in memory, but in action.

Still, one principle must endure: a commitment to the marginalized. Without it, activism becomes branding. Resistance becomes résumé-building. And the road to power becomes a path paved with illusion.

When the moral compass of solidarity is lost, leadership loses legitimacy. Today’s student generation must recognize that advocacy is not driven by emotion or trend, but by informed conviction, empathy, and courage.

Without moral clarity, struggle turns to ambition. And ambition without conscience becomes betrayal.

To honor the reform era is to nurture that conscience: one that sides with the oppressed, amplifies the silenced, and dares to confront injustice regardless of who holds the reins of power.[W&W]

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