Hans David Tampubolon – Society at large has been tarnished by an ongoing tolerance of violent culture, as the number of brawls among civilians in Jakarta so far this year has already surpassed the amount from last year, an expert said.

According to Jakarta Police data, as many as 39 public brawls have erupted in 2011 so far, a disturbing increase from the 28 total throughout all of 2010.

The most recent brawl was in Mahakam, South Jakarta, and ended in a prolonged conflict between the students of state senior high school SMAN 6 and journalists.

Commenting on the growing trend of civilian brawls in the city, National Commission for Children's Protection chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said that the real victim was society and the real culprits were adults who proudly displayed their violent tendencies for solving their problems.

"Our adult citizens, whether they be high school graduates, politicians or religious figures, like to show that violence is the best way to settle matters. They throw around dirty words, slam water bottles and even fight on live television broadcasts," Arist told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Thursday.

"The violent culture has been passed on to the younger generation. In the end, everyone – students, journalists, parents – become victims of the violent culture," he added.

Arist said that society had to do whatever it took to break the chain of a violent culture for the sake of the future of the younger generations.

"In the context of brawls involving students, schools must make a solid commitment and take a firm stance in regulating the punishment for students who are involved in brawls," he said. "The regulations must be based on consensus among teachers, parents, students and even the police."

Arist also said that schools, as institutional bodies, had to be held accountable for riots that involved their students.

"The school principals cannot wash their hands from their responsibilities if students brawl outside school hours, because one of the main functions of an educational institution is to teach its students public norms and how to behave," he said.

Separately, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said that it was important for schools to build solid systems to prevent their students from brawling. "It is up to each school to build its own system," Baharudin said.