Prabowo Invites Elementary Students to Recite the Youth Pledge at a Library, a Signal for National Literacy?

President Prabowo Subianto chose a symbolic route to commemorate the 98th Youth Pledge Day: he recorded himself guiding a group of elementary school students in reciting the three historic vows from a library. The roughly one-minute video was uploaded to the official presidential Instagram account, @prabowo, on Wednesday (28/10) night, and immediately drew public attention.

In the recording, Prabowo appears wearing a white shirt and black peci, holding a red folder bearing the words “Membaca Bersama Anak-Anak Indonesia” (Reading with Indonesian Children). The students, wearing red-and-white batik uniforms—patterned with books, tigers, rafflesia flowers, turtles, and leaves—followed the reading from similar folders. Some of them took turns reading parts of the text through a microphone. At the end of the video, Prabowo raised a clenched fist, met with the same gesture from the students. Titiek Soeharto was also present in matching batik and a red shawl.

The choice of a library as the location and the folder's title were not without intent. Amid a flood of digital content that erodes young people's interest in reading, this action can be read as an affirmation that literacy remains a priority agenda. However, symbolism of this kind always faces a test: does it stop at image-building, or does it turn into a measurable program?

Since the independence era, the Youth Pledge has often been used as a stage for the government to affirm its national vision. This year's commemoration, however, was different because the head of state directly stepped in as a guide, rather than merely giving a speech. According to an education observer who declined to be named, the move is effective for building emotional closeness with the public, but its impact on literacy quality depends on the continuity of policy at the school level.

Indonesia's current context shows serious challenges: Indonesian students' literacy scores in international assessments still lag, while access to books in remote areas remains uneven. The large education budget has not fully reached school libraries and teacher training. Within that framework, the call to read wrapped in the momentum of the Youth Pledge should serve as an entry point for improving the literacy ecosystem, not merely social media content.

“Reading is the key to a nation's progress. Without a literacy culture, the ideals of the Youth Pledge are difficult to realize,” reads the message implied in the post, as quoted from the video description.

The Prabowo administration does place character education as one of its priorities, but criticism of ceremonial approaches continues to surface. A number of teacher organizations argue that concrete steps are needed, such as providing affordable books, mobile libraries, and digital literacy training. Without that, the moment in the library will only become a brief historical note on the timeline.

Going forward, the public will be waiting to see whether the government allocates adequate resources for a national literacy program, or instead relies on symbolic campaigns. If it is truly serious, next year's Youth Pledge commemoration should be marked by measurable achievements—not just a viral video.