Indonesia has now been independent for 56 years, yet one question remains unanswered: why does Indonesia seem to run out of leaders? The national politics has yielded a mere handful of leaders such as Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati, Amien Rais, Akbar Tandjung or Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono—just to name a few—while the rest are still unheard.

Various socio-political organizations that are supposed to serve as a training ground for future le