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The most sinister use of "pelajar masih berseragam" appears in crime reports. School brawls (tawuran pelajar) are an endemic issue in Jakarta and Bandung. In these cases, the uniform is not just a shirt; it is a gang flag. Rival schools can identify enemies by the color of their uniform (e.g., grey for SMA vs. blue for SMP).
When a student is caught in a hospital or a jail cell masih berseragam, it highlights a failure of school security. It raises the question: How did a student leave the school gate without being checked? The uniform becomes evidence that the educational system has lost control of its wards.
The phenomenon of uniformed students working or loitering during school hours is not new, but it has intensified due to several converging factors:
The “pelajar masih berseragam” phenomenon has ripple effects across Indonesian society: