Millennial Political Concerns and Political Preferences towards Presidential Election in 2019: Evidence from Palembang

The 2019 democratic party was dominated by millennial generation voters. In the face of the democratic party for the presidential/vice presidential election which was held in 2019, the millennial generation is a group of potential voters whose the largest voting rights because it influences in determining who the candidate for the nation's leader is. This study uses a mixed method research, which combines qualitative and quantitative research methods with analytical descriptive to obtain more in-depth data. This study seeks to reveal the political preferences of the millennial generation of Palembang in the presidential election 2019. By using the theory of voting behavior, this study attempts to analyze the political preference factors of the millennial generation in the presidential election 2019. The results of this study indicate that the political preferences of the millennial generation of Palembang in the presidential election 2019 based on several factors, namely sociological factors, psychological factors, and the rational choice of the millennial generation in determining the candidates they choose. The political rights of the millennial generation is important because of the position of the millennial generation as a generation that has the potential to determine the life of a better Indonesian political system.


INTRODUCTION
Indonesia is a country that has a very large population. As a large country, Indonesia is a unitary state based on people's sovereignty as stated in the 1945 Constitution. To implement the principle of popular sovereignty led by solemn wisdom in deliberation/representation, consultative institutions/people's representatives are formed whose members are elected through General Elections which were carried out democratically and transparently (Nuryanto, 2018).
General elections are a means of democracy in order to realize a system of government that is sovereign by the people. The government formed through a general election will have strong legitimacy. The 2019 democratic party is expected to be dominated by millennial generation voters. This generation has a lot of potential because it has its own characteristics and is influential in determining who will be the nation's leader. As emphasized in Law Number 40 of 2009 concerning youth, it is emphasized that the young generation has a major position and role in realizing the life of a democratic Indonesian nation. Political literacy from an early age must be emphasized by the millennial generation as the moral responsibility of the younger generation. In addition, the noble values of the Indonesian people must be firmly planted to encourage the progress of our democracy.
The millennial generation, who is generally categorized as beginner voters, is always the center of attention ahead of the general election. Besides because they are young generation who have unstable emotional characters, their experience in making political choices is something new. Because it is a new experience, many suspect that the political behavior of these young voters is not constant. This means that because it is based on socio-political ignorance, the choice depends on their environment (Fatmawati, 2010).
According to the population projections of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the largest population composition by generation group in 2017 in Indonesia is the millennial generation group. Millennial generation women account for 33.7 percent of the female population, while millennial generation males account for 33.8 percent of the male population (BPS, 2019). Overall, there are as many as 33.7 percent of the population of the millennial generation group. In elections, this group is a potential voter, because the age range is a population that is included in the category of permanent voters (The Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, 2018).
The millennial generation is generally a generation born between 1982 and 2002, Tapscott (2013) states that the term for this new millennial generation is called the google generation, millennial generation, generation Z, echo boomers, and dumbest generation. Therefore, the millennial generation can be characterized by the increasing use of communication tools, media and information technology used. For example: internet, email, SMS, IM, MP3 Player, HP, You Tube, and so on. Some of the characteristics of this generation, such as: people want freedom in their actions from choosing to freedom of expression, very happy to do customization and personalization. So, the presence of this generation will clearly become a new supervisor and commentator as well as a driver of change in a social movement in the political field (Tapscott, 2013).
The millennial generation era relies heavily on instantaneous speed, so real time is the main requirement for connecting with this generation because of the ease with which information can be obtained via the internet. Millennials are innovators, because they seek, learn and work in an innovation environment that is heavily on technology to make changes in various aspects of their lives. The things that characterize this millennial generation are clearly all related to technology, for example: 1). Instant Communications, that this generation lives in a real time environment and is looking for a convenient way of communication. So instant communication is an important buzzword and it's a convenience to do what they love; 2). Network Development, which is developing networks that allow this generation to connect with each other for connection and collaboration. So, collaboration is the new oxygen in designing their freedom; 3). Gadget-Powered Connection, namely the generation of gadget lovers who always provide connections via gadgets (such as: cellphones (mobile), platform games, laptops/netbooks, and others). So, the adoption of technology has become very hyper for this millennial generation. These characteristics then influence their characteristics and their sensitivities in the political field. The peculiarities of the characteristics of the millennial generation also influence their political preferences in the 2019 presidential election. In the 2019 presidential election, the characteristics of millennial voters can be categorized, among others: Critical (thinking critically), Change (happy with change), Communicative (communicating their choices with other parties), and Community (joining the community) or abbreviated axle 4C. The vote contribution in the 2019 election is estimated to reach 47% to 50%. This indicates that millennial voters will determine who the next legislative and presidential candidates will be. There is a tendency that the millennial generation will shift the traditional voters that every political party has so far. This condition is certainly a challenge for every political party to immediately innovate to gain votes from young people, including swing voters who also have millennial behavior.
Millennials are said to have a high curiosity, are critical, tend to collaborate and master technology more than the previous generation (Baby Boomers and Veterans and Generation X). With these characteristics, the presence of the millennial generation in welcoming the political year, on the one hand can be very valuable to keep the political conditions in the country conducive, but on the other hand it can actually trigger a high political temperature, if this is not managed properly. Because with the provision of technological capabilities this generation can make a massive movement in positive and negative terms equally well. Therefore, the millennial generation is expected to have high awareness and move actively in a more positive direction.
In general, the millennial generation is expected not to be provoked into becoming political agents who easily spread information that is not yet clear, which is deliberately exhaled by political actors to widen the polarization of differences in society by bringing down political opponents. Efforts that need to be made to keep domestic conditions conducive and stable include spreading a neutral attitude and not being blind fanatics towards certain political groups or parties. Furthermore, efforts to fortify themselves so that they are not easily infiltrated by understandings and ideologies that can ultimately divide unity must also be continued. Basically, the purpose of influencing the general public or certain groups is how politicians are able to gain as many votes as possible. Various attempts to get as many votes as possible were made, including by ideological influences, as we have seen in recent years.
The democratic party through the Presidential Election in 2019 became a stage for the millennial generation to participate both actively and passively. In the 2019 presidential election, there are two candidates who have strong attachments to the millennial generation, namely the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin and Prabowo-Sandi pair. The voices of the millennial generation have also become a magnet for the times of the two pairs of candidates. This is because the millennial generation has a significant share of the number of voters in determining the political direction in Indonesia, especially in the city of Palembang which also has quite a number of residents who fall into the millennial generation category. The population of Palembang City who are in the age classification of 15-34 years, amounting to 312.284 (BPS data 2014(BPS data -2015 people and is the largest population compared to other age classifications in Palembang City. So that the political preferences of the Palembang City millennial generation become an interesting thing to study.

RESEARCH METHOD
This type of research is research that combines the paradigm of quantitative research and descriptive qualitative research or is called a combination-research (mixed methods). Combination research method is a research method that combines quantitative and qualitative methods (Sugiyono, 2012). Combination research is not carried out simultaneously between quantitative and qualitative but its use is different with the intention of complementing one another (Sugiyono, 2012). The first step in this research is a quantitative method with a survey approach using a simple random sampling technique. After taking quantitative data, the researcher conducted research using qualitative descriptive methods.
Mixed research or commonly referred to as mixed methods has several research designs in it. i.e., mixed methods design with comment status. In this method, researchers use quantitative and qualitative approaches in a comment letter level to understand a phenomenon being studied. Then the third sequential mixed methods method where the researcher carries out the qualitative research study stage and then separately carries out the quantitative research stage, or vice versa Creswell calls this design a two-stage design (Creswell, 2010). The latter is a parallel or concurrent mixed methods design. Qualitative or quantitative data are collected at the same time and analyzed to complement each other. The research design in this study used mixed methods with comment status. Qualitative research to determine the political participation and political attitudes of the millennial generation's political preferences and the use of quantitative methods to obtain data on the political preferences of the millennial generation in the 2019 presidential election in Palembang City.
Related to this, in this case the researcher describes the political preferences of the millennial generation in Palembang City in the 2019 Presidential Election. The locus of research was carried out in Palembang City with the focus of research being on the millennial generation in Palembang City. This is because the population of Palembang City who are classified as 15-34 years old, totaling 312.284 BPS Data 2014-2015) and is the largest population compared to other age classifications in Palembang City (BPS, 2019). The respondents of this study were the millennial generation of Palembang City with a total of 114 respondents.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Political preference is a choice of action based on values that are believed to provide a political response that exists in a person (Greenstein, 1975). Political actions that are embodied in the political values that a person believes are a very decisive factor to direct them to respond to the (political) situation they face. This form of political action given by a person is not the same as one another. This political action depends on what values are prominent in him at that time. Not infrequently the values that are believed to be manifested in the form of motivation and interest in politics. This means that political preferences are an integral part of the personality system aspect. This personality system consists of unique psychological tendencies and social behavior. Therefore, understanding this personality system must depart from an understanding of the dimensions of the substance (content) and its structure (structure). The substance dimension of this personality system consists of basic elements consisting of values and beliefs such as ideology, motivation, attitudes, cognition, emotions and so on. Meanwhile, structure is understood as an attempt to organize values into characteristics or characteristics of the individual (Gordon, 1975;Morrison & Svennevig, 2008).
A person's involvement in political activity is usually associated with his motivation. Even a person's motivation, especially in political activities, is related to his social environment. Therefore, the social environment becomes a variable that drives the emergence of motivation. In the area of politics, a person's motivation to engage in political activities he follows is none other than power. The hope to gain power is expected to be a tool to fulfill other individual goals such as economic, social, cultural, psychological and so on.
Political choices (political preferences) provide a great opportunity for individuals to determine the best choice among the many options available. However, if the formation of the choice is limited by the information held, then the choice will be limited. It is difficult to avoid that with these limitations there will not be a rational choice model. Moreover, in some cases political preferences, which are the basis for rationalization, are not always in line with individual voting decisions in a general election. This difference is caused by none other than the general election situation. If a voter feels that he does not have an advantage with his decision, for example the chance of victory for the party he chooses, then he will tend to choose another political party (Fieldhouse et al., 2007). Based on the survey results, the preferences or tendencies of the Palembang City millennial generation in choosing candidates in the 2019 Presidential Election are based on certain considerations. The existence of these political tendencies or preferences cannot be separated from the existence of certain factors that influence the millennial generation, who are generally novice voters, to participate in voting for their chosen candidate in the 2019 Presidential Election. The data above shows that around 56.1% preference Millennial generation politics is based on the vision and mission of presidential/vice presidential candidates. This right shows that the millennial generation's political preferences are based on rational factors by looking at the candidate's vision and mission. The next percentage of political preferences is dominated by psychological factors, namely 52.6% of the millennial generation choose their candidate based on the candidate's personality. As for the sociological factors, it is dominated by the educational background and religion of the candidates for the presidential/vice presidential candidates by 43.9%. However, when respondents were asked to choose only one choice of determinants of political preference in the 2019 presidential election, here are the results of the survey. The survey results show that the determinants of the political preferences of the millennial generation of Palembang City are due to rational factors, namely looking at the vision and mission of the candidates for the presidential / vice presidential candidates who are advancing in the 2019 presidential election, which is 31.6 percent. Then it is still dominated by rational factors, namely by looking at the performance and experience of 19.3 percent. The next percentage is influenced by psychological factors, where respondents from the millennial generation of Palembang City see the personality of the presidential/vice presidential candidates, which is 15.8 percent, social/populist at 8.8 percent, and likes the presidential candidate 1.8 percent and likes the vice president by 1.8 percent. Not only rational and psychological factors, the next percentage is also due to sociological factors, which is 14 percent influenced by the educational and religious background of the 2019 presidential/vice presidential candidates, then due to the representation of ulama by 5.3 percent and because of their socio-economic status of 1, 8 percent.
Political preferences are part of individual political behavior where each individual has preferences in determining various political choices according to their needs. Voting behavior in the general election process, especially the presidential election which was held in 2019, is a psychological and emotional response that is manifested in a form of political action, namely supporting one political candidate by voting through ballots on 17 April 2019 simultaneously in throughout Indonesia. Political scientists say that individual behavior in voting in election activities is called the concept of voting behavior. In simple terms, voting behavior can be defined as the participation of citizens in general elections through a series of decision-making activities, namely whether to vote or not to vote in general elections. If you decide to vote, do you choose party or candidate X or party or candidate Y. According to Afan Gaffar (1992), "in analyzing voting behavior and to explain the considerations used as reasons by voters in making their choices. Voting Behavior Theory or what is often referred to as the theory of voting behavior is a theory that is able to analyze the political phenomenon of the millennial generation's political preferences in the 2019 presidential election by looking at the pattern of voters in a general election. According to Dieter Roth (2009), explaining the theory of voting behavior, there is actually no theory that is absolutely true. However, according to him, in general, there are three kinds of approaches or rationale that attempt to analyze voting behavior in a general election, namely the sociological approach, the psychological approach and the rational choice approach.

Sociological Approach
The sociological approach is a political behavior that discusses matters or considerations that influence voters in determining their chosen political candidate, which is viewed from sociological factors such as religion, education, place of residence, age, occupation, gender, and the amount of financial expenditure. The sociological approach reveals that the pattern of voter behavior shows a close relationship between voters and more dominant structural social aspects which include socioeconomic status, religion, ethnicity, and area of residence.

Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020
The data above shows that when respondents are given several choices regarding political preferences in the 2019 presidential election, the results of the determinants of millennial generation's political preferences based on sociological factors can include because based on educational and religious education background is 43.9 percent, then due to religious representation of 43.9 percent. 14 percent, political parties that carry 14 percent, then socio-economic status by 10.5 percent, invitations from family/friends by 3.5 percent, and from the same region/ethnicity by 1.8 percent. However, when millennial generation respondents are given instructions to choose only one option, the determinants of political preferences based on sociological factors are as follows.

Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020
There are several sociological factors surveyed to the millennial generation of Palembang City, among others because of the invitation of family/friends, from the same region/ethnicity, due to socio-economic status, educational and religious background, political parties that carry, and representation of scholars. However, of the several options offered, there are more determinant factors chosen by respondents, namely 14 percent of respondents choosing their chosen candidate for president/vice presidential candidate based on the educational background and religion of the candidate, then 5.3 percent chose because it is a representation of ulama (Islamic cleric) and 1,8 percent voted because of the socio-economic status of the candidate of their choice.
From these data, there is a tendency that the level of maturity in democracy in the millennial generation is still relatively low. Because if you reflect on countries that are already relatively more developed and have a high level of democratization, then the preference for voting should be based on performance factors that are more important than if they are based on the candidate's identity factor. The purpose of voting in the general election contestation is to get the best people's representatives who will sit in parliament, or the chief executive of the government who will lead the course of government both centrally and regionally in the next five years. The next goal of democratization is that elected representatives or leaders can bring about better welfare through the mandate of power given by the people.

Psychological Approach
The psychological approach or Michigan School explains that this group looks at voter behavior in elections by examining each individual himself where the perceptions or judgments of candidates and the themes that are carried affect the election of someone in the election. It can also be explained that one's attitude is a reflection of one's personality which is also a variable that is quite decisive in influencing one's political behavior. Therefore, the psychological approach emphasizes three psychological aspects as the main study, namely emotional attachment to a political party, orientation to issues, and orientation to candidates. Voters make their choices because of the influence of psychological forces that develop within themselves as a product of the socialization process, which means that through the process of socialization, individuals can recognize the political system which then determines the nature of their political perceptions in general elections and this socialization also aims to improve the quality of voters.

Figure 5. Determinant of Political Preference Factors Based on Psychology
Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020

Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020
Based on this data, it can be seen that psychological factors are also a political preference for the millennial generation of Palembang City in the 2019 Presidential Election. This psychological preference factor consists of 52.6 percent of the millennial generation choosing candidates for presidential / vice-presidential candidates based on personality considerations possessed by candidates, then 35.1 percent of millennial voters vote because the presidential/vice presidential candidates are social/popular, around 25.3 percent tend to vote because they like the presidential candidate and 17.5 percent like the vice president, and 1.8 percent vote because the candidate is authoritative and 1.8 percent again because you know / still have a relative / have heard his name. The determinants of political preferences are based on these psychological factors, which can be seen in the following survey results.

Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020
The determinants of these psychological factors consist of 15.8 percent of the millennial generation of Palembang City choosing their candidates based on the personality of the presidential/vice presidential candidates in the 2019 presidential election. Furthermore, 8.8 percent chose based on the social/populist spirit possessed by the candidate, and each 1.8 percent voted because they liked the presidential candidate and liked the vice-presidential candidate. A survey conducted by Kompas Media shows that the contestation space between the two pairs of candidates participating in the 2019 Presidential Election is now narrowing. The electability of the candidate pair (paslon) Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin is now 49.2 percent, an 11.8 percent difference from the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pair whose electability is 37.4 percent. In the October 2018 survey, the electability difference between the two pairs was 19.9 percent.
Research and Development Survey, this is the Choice of Presidential and Vice-Presidential  (Ihsanuddin, 2019). The survey also shows that Sandiaga is favored because of his educational background and age. Meanwhile, Ma'ruf was favored because of his religious background. However, the number of people who voted for the vice-presidential candidate was still small in number. As many as 71.9 percent said they chose because of the figure of the presidential candidate. Meanwhile, the reason for the vice president figure was only stated by 9.5 percent of respondents. Therefore, Compass Research and Development assesses the role of the vice-presidential candidate can still be optimized to attract people who have not made a choice. The remaining campaign time of less than one month can still be used by the two vice presidential candidates to increase electability. Passwords can still reach areas that have not become their power base. Meanwhile, for Amin, his superiority as a scholar figure is not in doubt.

Rational Choice
The approach suggests that voters basically act rationally when making choices in voting without considering the external background of the voters. According to Downs, in rational choice, voters will consider costs and benefits before making a choice of a candidate. The consideration of these costs and benefits is more inclined to ideas or programs that have an impact on voters. If viewed from the two previous approaches, it tends to place voters in time and space, either implicitly or explicitly. They assume that voter behavior is not a decision made before or while in the voting booth, but has been determined long before, even before the campaign begins.

Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020
In addition to the sociological and psychological approach as the political preferences of the millennial generation in Palembang City, there is also a rational choice approach as a political preference which can be said to be the hallmark of the characteristics of the millennial generation itself. These factors consist of 56.1 percent of the millennial generation of Palembang City choosing their presidential/vice presidential candidates based on the candidate's vision and mission and 40.4 percent choosing based on the candidate's performance and experience. This is a large enough number to explain that the millennial generation has used their logical mindset in choosing their presidential/vice presidential candidates, not because they were told, invited or chosen to be random.
There are also 1.8 percent each choosing their candidate because they want a new color for Indonesia, continue the performance of the previous period, and have experienced the services of one candidate who is still included as a rational approach in voting behavior.

Source: Compiled by the Authors, 2020
There are two determinant factors based on rational choice factors that influence the millennial generation to choose their presidential/vice presidential candidates in the 2019 presidential election, namely the consideration of the candidate's vision and mission by 31.6 percent and consideration of the performance and experience of the candidate by 19.3 percent. This shows that the millennial generation is indeed identical with a rational mindset, not based on sociological or psychological considerations. In this rational choice approach, there is a take and give that becomes the mindset. This indicates that the millennial generation hopes that one vote based on rational considerations will be able to bring Indonesia to be better in accordance with the vision and mission conveyed by the candidate.
Based on political theory which is divided into three approaches, namely sociological, psychological and rational approaches related to the level of political participation of the millennial generation. When viewed from a sociological approach to millennial generation's political participation, what needs to be considered is the form of millennial generation education based on political education and when viewed from the psychological aspect, what needs to be considered is the reflection of the millennial generation's political orientation towards politics while when viewed from the aspect of rational choice then the calculation of the costs and benefits of each different individual becomes a consideration in participating in the election.
Sociological characteristics, family background, socialization, life experience are variables that influence a person's political behavior. But in reality, there are some voters who change their political choices from one election to the next. This is due to dependence on certain political events which may change one's political preferences. There are situational factors that influence voter behavior. This situational factor can be in the form of political issues in the nominated candidate. These political issues become important considerations where voters will make choices based on an assessment of political issues. This means that the millennial generation as novice voters can make their choices based on rational considerations. The rational approach brings voters to a valid assessment of the candidate's vision, mission and work program. Rational voters have sufficient motivation, principles, knowledge and information. Their actions are not due to chance or habit, and are not solely for their own sake, but also for the public interest according to their logical thoughts and considerations.

CONCLUSION
The millennial generation has an important role in the world of politics in Indonesia where the technological capabilities of the millennial generation can influence political conditions. The millennial generation has great potential because it has its own characteristics and is influential in determining who the nation's leaders are. The characteristics of millennial voters are critical (think critically), change (happy with change), communicative (communicate their choices with other parties), and community (join the community). Millennials who are technology literate and connected through social networks have a role in influencing the direction of government policies, influencing government responses, and can even spur government performance.
Political preference is a choice of action based on values that are believed to provide a political response that exists in a person. Political actions that are embodied in the political values that a person believes are a very decisive factor in directing them to respond to the (political) situation they face, including their political participation. The political preference factors of this millennial generation include sociological factors such as educational background, religion, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and so on, then psychological factors based on personality and preference for candidates and so on, as well as rational choice factors based on rationality and cost benefits. accepted by the millennial generation.