TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of high-school students participated in the 908th Aksi Kamisan, which coincided with the commemoration of the 28th anniversary of the 1998 Reform on Thursday, May 21, 2026. The students gathered in front of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, driven by a conviction that the younger generation must not remain blind to the current state of Indonesia.Several groups of students participated in this Aksi Kamisan. Some were spotted wearing their gray-and-white high school uniforms, standing out among the roughly 1,000 participants dressed in black.These students hailed from various high schools, including vocational institutions. While some were participating for the very first time, others had been attending the weekly rally regularly over the past year.The 1998 Reform took place before any of them were born. Yet, these students felt a compelling need to join the ongoing struggle. "Apparently, its goals have still not been achieved to this day," said Imam Muhammad Al-Mahdi, a student from SMA Negeri 28 Jakarta, at the rally site.The 11th-grade student asserted that youth should not remain silent in the face of the country's prevailing issues. If the Indonesian government fails to fully realize the Reform agenda, Imam warned that the consequences would ripple out to the wider public, including students.Prior to today's rally, Imam noted that he had already participated in Kamisan multiple times. "For the past year, thankfully," he said.He mentioned that he first learned about the weekly protest from a friend. "A friend told me about a non-violent protest called Kamisan, and eventually, I became quite interested," he said.Imam said he headed straight to the Merdeka Palace right after school. For this particular occasion, he invited several of his friends to join him in commemorating the 1998 Reform at the Kamisan rally.Reynaldi Rizky Mahardika, a classmate invited by Imam, shared that this was his first time attending a Kamisan action. Like Imam, he felt compelled to attend because he believed Indonesia is still plagued by numerous problems, even 28 years after the Reform movement began.According to Reynaldi, Indonesia has yet to fully escape the shadow of the New Order regime that was overthrown by the historic Reform movement. He pointed to ongoing instances of activist intimidation, reminiscent of the era under former president Suharto, alongside a political oligarchy that continues to shape national life.Reynaldi argued that students are among the groups most disadvantaged by the unfulfilled promises of the Reform. He highlighted the soaring cost of education, particularly for those aspiring to pursue higher studies, as well as a chaotic national curriculum. "Our rights are probably also the ones most frequently violated," he said.Another student, Dava Fadila from SMK Negeri 45 Jakarta, stressed that youth must not remain silent when confronted with Indonesia's unresolved past and present issues. "As young people, we must not be blind to what is happening," he said.The Kamisan Action, according to Dava, serves as a vital reminder of Indonesia's darkest historical chapters. As an example, he pointed to the unresolved forced disappearances and killings that occurred in 1998.One case was the tragic death of Atma Jaya University student Benardinus Realino Norma Irawan on November 13, 1998, which drove his mother, Maria Catarina Sumarsih, to found the Aksi Kamisan to demand justice. "I want to participate in voicing this," Dava said.Meanwhile, Muhammad Azzam Maheva, a student from another vocational school, shared that he has gained insight from attending the weekly rallies. Azzam explained that the protest serves as a living classroom where he can understand the continuous struggle of the Indonesian people.Azzam admitted that some of his peers frequently question his choice to attend the protests. "My friends would say, 'Zam, why do you bother going to Kamisan? You'd be better off staying home and watching YouTube.' I would reply, 'If your own child suddenly went missing, how would you react?' That leaves them speechless," he said.Therefore, Azzam said he hopes to inspire more students to educate themselves and stand up through the Kamisan movement. "As I said, we shouldn't stay silent; we must challenge impunity and ensure that human rights violations do not go unpunished," he concluded.Read: Kamisan Participants: Prabowo-Gibran Are Like SoehartoClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News