Fury over budget cuts, lack of opportunity sparks debate over 'escaping' Indonesia

Due to government budget cuts, declining quality of life, stagnant career development, and rampant official corruption, many Indonesians have begun to fantasize about "escaping" the country of 280 million people. This sentiment reflects public dissatisfaction with the current situation and concerns about the future.

Students across the country have staged large-scale demonstrations to protest President Prabowo Subianto's so-called "government efficiency" austerity measures. These measures include cuts to education and healthcare funding to finance a flagship school lunch program. The widespread perception that the political and economic situation is deteriorating has prompted tens of thousands of young people to talk about leaving Indonesia to seek a better life, with the hashtag #KaburAjaDulu (meaning "let's escape first") rapidly gaining popularity on social media.

Vira Maresti, who has worked in the Indonesian media industry for 11 years, feels frustrated by the stagnation in career development. "Eventually, your salary either stays the same or decreases slightly, and you might even need to switch careers and start over with an entry-level salary," she said. "This makes me wonder if there is any country that would take me in."

Data from social media monitoring company Drone Emprit shows that the hashtag "let's escape first" has garnered as many as 20 billion interactions on X and TikTok in the past two months. The company found that approximately 49% of these users are between the ages of 19 and 29. Settling overseas is not new to Indonesians, but the heated discussion on social media has sparked public criticism from government officials.

Cabinet Minister Nusron Wahid criticized this desire among young Indonesians. "If you decide to leave and find a place to live and work, that's fine. But if not, do you want to be homeless? Do you want to be a Tarzan?" he said. Other ministers took the opportunity to call for the creation of more job opportunities for young Indonesians. "Come on, government officials, let's create better jobs," said Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah.

Youth unemployment is a major problem facing Southeast Asia's largest economy. The latest official data shows that in 2023, at least 9 million Indonesians between the ages of 15 and 24 were not working, in education, or in training. Arianne Utomo, a demographer at the University of Melbourne, said that the employment prospects for young Indonesians remain "bleak." "The labor market is becoming increasingly precarious, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for young people to access jobs that enable upward mobility and build meaningful careers," Dr. Utomo said. But she also pointed out that the temporary and precarious work faced by young people is not unique to Indonesia and also exists in Australia.

Indonesian government data shows that in 2023, at least 6 million Indonesians lived overseas, distributed in countries such as Malaysia, China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. Desika Simanjuntak found that the reality of finding work in a new country was more difficult than she expected. Ms. Simanjuntak moved to Queensland in 2023, despite having a stable general practitioner job in Medan, Indonesia. Upon arrival, Ms. Simanjuntak hoped to find work to pay for her $3,000 overseas doctor skills assessment test, a process that took six months. "I think I sent my resume to 100 companies," she said. In addition, Ms. Simanjuntak spent $6,000 (and counting) on courses to improve her English while "relearning" medical subjects. While the move has not been easy, she feels lucky to have a sibling already living in Australia. "If I didn't have a support system, I think I would go back to Indonesia," Ms. Simanjuntak said. "Especially considering the cost of living here is so high... if you don't have anyone here, it can affect your mental health."

Leaving friends, family, and Indonesia's warm tropical climate and moving to Germany brought mental health challenges for Lia Hapsari Dewi. Ms. Dewi moved to Germany in 2017, but she also shares her experiences of living abroad on the "let's escape first" hashtag. She says that it is only with "an iron will" that Ms. Dewi has been able to [combat seasonal depression during the winter](https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2024-07-09/seasonal-depression-in-australia-diagnosis-and-treatment/104031848) while adapting to the new language and work culture of her new home. "Every time you go out, you see gray skies, no sun," she said. "Not to mention homesickness, loneliness, and seeing social media posts of your family reuniting in Indonesia."

One of the reasons Dewi left Indonesia was to improve her financial situation. In Germany, her monthly after-tax income as a kindergarten teaching assistant is approximately $3,000, 10 times the minimum wage in her hometown of East Java. Dewi says that in Germany, paid annual leave and parental leave are taken for granted, but in Indonesia, most of her friends have to be hospitalized to take time off. Dr. Utomo explained that young Indonesians are the most educated, and the country's demographic dividend is well-suited to aging populations and matches the skills shortages in many of the places they seek to migrate to, such as Australia. "[These countries] have labor shortages in many industries and need labor from other regions," she said.

Recent publicly available data from the Indonesian Immigration Office shows that Singapore is also a popular new home for young Indonesians. Between 2019 and 2022, nearly 4,000 Indonesian citizens between the ages of 25 and 35 renounced their citizenship to obtain Singaporean citizenship. Ms. Dewi encourages Indonesians to seek opportunities abroad but warns them to do thorough research before leaving the country. "First ask yourself, do you really want to leave?" she said. "You will leave your family, friends, and start everything from scratch. Are you really ready?"