ASEAN Sports Day in Yogyakarta Urges Young People to Stop Being Inactive

Indonesia’s Youth and Sports Ministry is telling young people to stop being “mager”, an Indonesian term for being too lazy to move, and make exercise part of their lifestyle.

The message was delivered at ASEAN Sports Day 2026 in Yogyakarta. Yayat Suyatna, deputy assistant for community sports at the ministry, said the event implements the ASEAN Work Plan on Sport, which treats sport as a tool for building friendship among Southeast Asian countries.

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We want to encourage young people and the public to exercise actively. Why? Because sport is an investment in individuals, families, regions and the nation’s future. We face a challenge when young people become mager. What does mager mean? It means being lazy to move.

Yayat said physical activity tends to be higher when people are still in school, partly because they have physical education classes. It declines after they graduate from high school and enter university, although activity may rise again as people approach retirement. Overall, he said, Indonesia’s activity level remains relatively low compared with other countries.

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After graduating from high school, the number of people who enjoy exercising falls.

“We want to encourage young people and the public to exercise actively. Why? Because sport is an investment in individuals, families, regions and the nation’s future. We face a challenge when young people become mager. What does mager mean? It means being lazy to move,” Yayat said at the event’s opening.

Indonesia aims to have half its population exercising actively by 2029. Yayat said the current figure is about 30%, with the benchmark set at 150 minutes per week, or 30 minutes a day over five days. ASEAN Sports Day takes place in several member states during August and September. This year’s Yogyakarta event gives greater space to traditional sports and involves more members of the public and young people under the theme “Active Youth Healthy Future.”

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Our target for 2029 is for 50 percent of our population to exercise actively. This is a challenge. We are still at around 30 percent for active movement.