Retired Army Members Urged to Boost Election Participation

Medan, North Sumatra (Antara) - The general chairman of the Association of Retired Indonesian Defense Forces Members (Pepabri), retired general Agum Gumelar, has urged members of Pepabri to boost participation in the upcoming general elections. "It is important for them to pass along their spirit of nationalism, especially to the younger generation, so that they will take part in the general elections this year," he said here on Saturday. Gumelar made the statement when opening a meeting of the North Sumatra regional chapter of Pepabri. He said Pepabri must support the government's target of election participation. He added that helping the younger generation to become aware of the importance of the general elections was the task of all people, including Pepabri. Gumelar added that, according to the results of a survey in London, China's economy has become the world's second largest after the US, while Indonesia was ranked 16th. In 2022 it is predicted that China will surpass the US, while Indonesia will move up to the 10th largest economy in the world. "To make Indonesia's rankings higher, the country must have a leader who can assure the continuity of development efforts in Indonesia, and that could only be achieved if people support general elections by participating in them and choosing the right representatives," he said.m (*) reporting by evalisa siregar