It started with a conversation among friends. A pregnant colleague had complained about a neglected bus stop on her way to work. The trash, the dirt. The authorities did not respond. So five young people in Bekasi, a satellite city east of Jakarta, decided to do it themselves.
At the start of 2026, Syafii Maarif Al-hafiz, 27, and four friends founded the group Generasi Burgeract. The name speaks for itself: criticizing the government through action. In January, they began by cleaning up a bus stop. Their video spread on social media. Instead of one action per month, as originally planned, they now work nearly every week.
The group fills potholes with their own money, cleans up stops and documents everything on video. It is not a protest in the conventional sense. It is a quiet statement: if nobody acts, we will.
The need is real. In Sidoarjo, a neighboring city, a 61-year-old motorcyclist died in early March after riding into a pothole at night and being run over by a truck. Hours later, city officials held a lavish iftar celebration. The image became a symbol of a gap many people in Indonesia feel.
In Bekasi and Sidoarjo, residents have since pooled their own money to repair roads. The attention generated by Generasi Burgeract prompted local politicians to at least acknowledge the need for better infrastructure.
The five friends carry on. One pothole fewer every week.
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