Where did you get the idea to set up Insan Muda Indonesia?
It was a collective idea. When I first met Agus Salim, who later became one of the fellow founders of IMI, he saw me carrying books about Indonesia. We talked about our concerns over the way the country has deteriorated. Indonesia used to be called “Jamrud Khatulistiwa” [“Jewel of the Equator”], or one of the Asian tigers. Well, look now and see how critically the world views us. Then we held a meeting with four of our friends who shared the same concerns, and after a lengthy discussion, IMI was established on August 22, 2009. Why nationalism? Shouldn’t pride in their country be something all Indonesians possess automatically? It should, but apparently it’s not that simple anymore. If it were, people would never litter their beloved homeland, which results in regular flooding in Jakarta. Amid globalization, Indonesia has lost its identity as a nation. Most people tend to put their own interests before others, not caring that such egotistical actions could harm the nation. And that also
