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Unfolding Stories
From student brawls to ‘klitih’: On the origin of teen gang violence
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Lurking in the dark: According to Pacul, 'klitih' used to have 'ethical codes'. But in the last couple of years, 'klitih' cases have been more and more horrendous. (Unsplash/Courtesy of Maxim Hopman) (Unsplash/Maxim Hopman)
T
eenage gang violence is seeing a deadly rise recently in Yogyakarta’s ‘klitih’, to the surprise of even its ex-perpetrators. But what drove such acts from teenagers?
It was a breezy afternoon when Pacul (not his real name), a history teacher at a state high school in Yogyakarta, sat down for a talk with The Jakarta Post on April 15. He had no class to teach that day, but Pacul remained restless during the holiday.
“Klitih still goes on, regardless. Even when we had online classes, a lot of klitih still happened,” he said.
The reason he knew the teenage gang activity so well? Pacul was a former klitih perpetrator himself. And the school that introduced him to the scene was the same one he currently teaches at.
“One of the reasons I became a teacher, especially at my old high school, is to fix my ways,” the 26-year-old said. “As an older, wiser person who can think more clearly, I want to be an example for them.”
But in the last couple of years, the klitih cases looked more and more horrendous, even for Pacul. Last year alone saw almost 60 cases of the teen gang violence act in Yogyakarta, according to the local police, with several of them ending in death.
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