Jakarta – Former minister of defense/Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto declared on Sunday the establishment of the Garda Muda Merah Putih (Red-and-White Youth Defenders), a youth group promoting moral movement.

"We hope we will be able to promote youth consciousness for the country's social and political affairs and its unity and integrity through this moral movement. It's also hoped that the movement will warn the political elite to perform its tasks well," Wiranto said as quoted by Antara on the sidelines of the declaration of the group at the Senayan Sports Hall of the Bung Karno Sports Center in Central Jakarta.

The group is chaired by Adhyaksa Dault, who is also chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI), while Wiranto sits as chairman of the group's board of patrons. Members of the board include Muslim leader Ali Yafie, political observers Ryaas Rasyid and Afan Gaffar, politicians Abdul Madjid and Ahmad Sumargono and former student leader Hariman Siregar.

Asked whether the group would get involved in politics, Wiranto said it would be only a moral movement that attempted to promote a sense of brotherhood so that the state institutions would also function as agents for the promotion of the public's welfare and not merely as a means to obtain or maintain power.

He said the group was expected to help the government establish firm regulations for the prosperity of the public. The former TNI chief warned of political rivalries that might endanger the country's unity. "The political elite should be wiser, more aspirational and consistent in handling the problems of citizens and the state," he said.