Again and again, I would like to stress and remind myself that our life is a test from Allah, whether we are able to be someone who can give great benefit to others and ikhlas (sincere) in worshiping Him.
Let’s always remember that this life is not the eternal one. We have to be prepared for the real life. The fact that we don’t know when we will return to Him has to make us more aware and more ta’at in worshiping Him. May Allah always guides us.
Leader is someone who has the vision and able to move people around him to achieve higher result. I do think that this is the one that we lack in our government, mainly the local level one. Based on interviews that I conducted, many of local level government, even the top official don’t really have the vision about where their region will be brought to.
Then how to have a good leader? Through religion? Formal education? Working experience?
Wish this jama’ah will help producing such leader.
Alhamdulillahirabbil ‘alamin,,
All thanks to Allah who gave us this life, who always guide us and has been very merciful to us, regardless whether we’re grateful to Him or not.
I am so grateful to Allah who gave me a chance to participate in a very eye-opening and great project. This project is a project from one of research institutes in my university. They want to create a report of Indonesia’s provincial competitiveness index. As a research associate or research assistant, I conduct interview with several top level provincial government, such as from Bappeda, Sekda, Disperindag, and BKPMD. So far, this project has brought me to see some part of Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Makassar, Kendari (Southeast Sulawesi), Denpasar (Bali), Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara), Mamuju (West Sulawesi), and Ternate (North Maluku).
There are quite a lot of lessons that I got during this project. Some of them I would like to share it with you.
First, the basic one, now I am fully aware, how big Indonesia is =). I think from Aceh to Papua, it will take around 8 hours flight, more than enough to travel to Tokyo from Jakarta (which passes through so many countries). Besides, I can also witnessed, that our country is just so beautiful, both its people and its scenery. I am touched with the sincere or pure intention of Indonesians that I met in Kendari, Kupang, Ternate, and moreover in Denpasar. They’re just so nice.
Secondly, I understood that quite many of our government officials in provincial government are still lack in capability. Most of them can’t give a clear and structured answer to my questions which are much related with their own provincial economic development and their province’s vision. Furthermore, from the interview, I also understood that the quality of our regency’s or city’s governments is even worse. With this fact in mind, I am very sad that it is very understandable that our development level is still very low.
Thirdly, it became clearer for me that there is lack of regulation in our country. Many foreigners built resort in an island as it is their own island, without thorough oversight from our government. I also understand from the interview that there are quite many things that can’t be done by local government because central government haven’t created the regulation, for example in preventing export of ore mining after one of minister’s regulation.
Fourthly, I am very sad to see many street children in the provinces. I believe many of them are very smart; it’s just that they cannot get the chance to get a quality education. From my interaction with the local Indonesian, I can see that they are very hardworking and very sincere. It really touches my heart. I promised myself that I’ll to make them able to receive their right as Indonesian after this.
Fifthly, all of the things above make me swear that I’ll do my best to make Indonesia as a developed country and I swear that I’ll expel all of those ‘bastard’ foreigners who are just sucking Indonesia’s wealth. Many of them are just taking Indonesia’s soil (ore) then bring it back to their country, without we know the content of that soil (Nickel, Gold, etc.). I swear that I’ll expel them, unless they bring more benefit to Indonesia. It is so clear that they are bribing government officials (who are also very greedy) and then suck Indonesia’s wealth. I also promise myself that when I am in leader position later in this country, I will really deal harshly to any government officials who received bribe from those companies.
Lastly, again, I want to thank Allah for everything that He has given to me. He is the one who always protects, guides, and strengthens me. Allah, please make me, my family, and my friends become someone who is always remember, thank, and worship You.
Allah, please also always guides us to be someone great, someone that can bring impactful benefits to people in this country, and to people around the world.
I posted the small piece of writing below in a website several days ago as a requirement for a scholarship application. I consider the content is a bit basic. Hope you find it beneficial. I’ll be more than happy to asnwer your question regarding studying and scholarship at university abroad. Thanks
Meraih Pendidikan Tinggi Berkualitas
Sudah ada konsensus bahwa kualitas sumber daya manusia merupakan suatu hal yang penting bagi daya saing (competitiveness) suatu bangsa. Bangsa yang kaya akan sumber daya alam, namun tidak memiliki sumber daya manusia yang handal akan tertinggal oleh bangsa yang memiliki sumber daya alam terbatas, namun memiliki sumber daya manusia yang baik. Singapura, Korea Selatan, dan Jepang merupakan beberapa Negara yang membuktikan bahwa sumber daya manusia yang handal akan meningkatkan kualitas standard hidup (living standard) suatu Negara.
Salah satu kunci meningkatkan kualitas sumber daya manusia tersebut tentunya pendidikan. Pendidikan akan memberikan dasar bagi kita untuk mengembangkan ilmu, meningkatkan kualitas daya pikir analitik, dan mengembangkan keahlian lainnya. Bedasarkan laporan OECD, pada tahun 2012, penduduk Indonesia yang melanjutkan pendidikan yang lebih tinggi setelah lulus SMA hanya sekitar 10%, cukup jauh dibawah Negara-negara maju yang mencapai rata-rata 30%.
Berbicara tentang pendidikan yang berkualitas, untuk pendidikan tinggi, universitas-universitas terbaik luar negeri pada saat ini masih merupakan pilihan yang tepat. Sangat banyak hal yang bisa didapatkan dari pendidikan di luar negeri.
Pelajaran yang didapat
Disamping medapatkan ilmu pengetahuan dan meningkatkan kemampuan berbahasa asing, belajar di luar negeri juga memberi kita beberapa manfaat lainnya. Dua diantaranya adalah:
Pertama, kita bisa mengetahui sistem pendidikan atau sistem universitas yang baik. Kita akan bisa mengetahui betapa dosen-dosen pengajar di luar negeri pada umumnya merupakan orang-orang yang berkualitas, universitas dilengkapi dengan sarana belajar yang menunjang, serta banyaknya kegiatan ekstrakurikuler yang tersedia, seperti organisasi mahasiswa, public lectures dan institusi-institusi riset.
Kedua, tata kelola pemerintahan. Di samping belajar, jika kita tinggal di Negara yang lebih maju, kita akan bisa melihat atau mengambil pelajaran dari sistem tata kelola pemerintahan yang diterapkan oleh Negara tersebut. Kita bisa melihat hal-hal yang patut dicontoh dan dikembangkan oleh Negara kita, seperti kualitas transportasi publik, pemukiman, pelayanan kesehatan, dan pelayanan publik lainnya.
Banyak Beasiswa
Keinginan untuk bisa melanjutkan pendidikan di universitas terbaik di luar negeri biasanya cukup besar bagi masyarakat Indonesia, namun seringkali terbentur oleh biaya yang cukup besar. Hal yang ingin saya tekankan adalah sangat banyak beasiswa yang tersedia di universitas-universitas luar negeri, terutama bagi program paska sarjana di universitas-universitas terbaik. Universitas-universitas tersebut sangat berusaha untuk ‘menggaet’ akademisi-akademisi berbakat ke Negara mereka. Pada umumnya, ketika kita mendaftar di salah satu program studi mereka, kita sudah langsung terdaftar sebagai pendaftar beasiswa di program tersebut. Pada saat pengumuman kelulusan pendaftaran, mereka akan memberi tahu apakah kita diterima dengan beasiswa, diterima tanpa beasiswa, atau tidak diterima.
Bagi kita yang tidak mendapatkan beasiswa dari kampus tersebut, masih banyak beasiswa-beasiswa lainnya yang tersedia. Salah satunya adalah program beasiswa unggulan dari kementrian pendidikan dan kebudayaan Indonesia (http://beasiswaunggulan.kemdiknas.go.id/). Program ini memberikan bantuan untuk biaya hidup selama kuliah. Program ini merupakan sesuatu yang sangat tepat untuk dimanfaatkan. Dengan ini, pemerintah berharap kualitas sumber daya manusia Indonesia akan dapat menjadi lebih baik dengan menempuh pendidikan di luar negeri.
Persiapan
Bagi program paska sarjana, hal penting yang harus dipersiapakan adalah study dan life plan serta kemampuan bahasa. Kita sudah harus bisa mengetahui target atau rencana hidup kita. Dengan demikian, kita bisa memilih universitas atau program yang tepat untuk membantu kita mencapai tujuan tersebut. Perbanyaklah membaca hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan bidang ketertarikan (field of interest) kita tersebut.
Bagi teman-teman yang masih kuliah di tingkat sarjana, perbanyaklah mengikuti kegiatan ekstrakurikuler, seperti organisasi-organisasi, community service, seminar-seminar, serta usahakan mendapatkan IPK yang baik. Hal-hal tersebut akan sangat membantu untuk bisa diterima di universitas terbaik di luar negeri.
Penutup
Indonesia merupakan Negara dengan penduduk terbesar keempat di dunia. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia memiliki potensi besar untuk memberi kontribusi signifikan bagi pengembangan pengetahuan dan mendorong terciptanya arsitektur global yang lebih baik. Insyaallah, dengan level pendidikan yang lebih baik, Indonesia akan mampu menjadi Negara yang lebih maju dan makmur. Good luck!
“And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination” (QS. Luqman:14)
Allah’s verse above stress that we have to be someone who obey, take care of, and beneficial to our parents.
Let’s always try to be a good Muslim and a good child to them. Let’s always try to be the one who will make them happy. In qur’an words, it’s called qurrata ‘ayun, someone that can make their parents’ eyes cool.
We’ve grown up now; hopefully we still and will always able to make them happy. Hopefully the song below can remind us again about their love, especially our mother.
May we can gather in Allah’s paradise later with our parents.
Sometimes, or quite often, I think about this life. This life is a test from Allah, to see, which one of us have a better ‘amal. We are definitely will be held responsible for everything that we’ve done in this life. Moreover, Allah mentioned repeatedly in the Qur’an that this life is just amusement and diversion, while the real and the eternal life is after our death. Thinking about this, sometimes make me want to drop anything that I currently do, concentrate more on religion study, teach religion subjects, being away from any duniawy (e.g. political, state) friction, etc.
But then, is that what Allah wants us to do? I think if many people are like that, then who will fix this messy world? Who will help the poor, weak, and disadvantaged society? Allah? For sure, but I believe His help should be channelled through human, and I believe that’s where our roles lie.
Looking back to the history, Prophet Muhammad, khalifah rasyidin, and some khalifah in bani umayyah and abbasiyah, all of them were a really good ‘abdullah (hamba Allah), and yet, also a very good leader who gave a lot benefit to the society. They transform the society, they made Islam world as the biggest power in the world for 700 years, etc. It reminds me to a training session that I attended several years ago. The trainer said, “Don’t ever contradicts things, such as, if I do this, I can’t do that. Insyaallah, everything can be done together and will result a good thing”. That time, the trainer gave example about being an academically sound student and a student activist, which later I discover being true; that it can be done alongside. Furthermore, Prophet said, the best human is the most beneficial to others, not just person who cares about himself. It’s person who gives the highest benefit to people around him.
Eventually, I conclude that, it is very possible to be someone that is close to Allah (have a lot of ‘amal,etc) and also involved in the state affairs for the good of society. Lastly, I want to share some lesson that I got from watching -my all-time favourite movie-Iron lady. Here they are:
That’s all, may we can a lesson from it. I believe our country can be much much better, if we, those who have the aspiration for the change, want to get involved, be prepared and take the lead. Insyaallah, as long as we keep being someone close to Allah, Allah will always help us, guide us, and strengthen us. May Allah always bless us all.
Bismillah,
I just got back from a three days visit to Jakarta. Since I traveled in the city mostly by taxi, there are some ‘classic’ lessons that I got from the driver. What I mean by classic is something that I might already have heard but sometime forget. Here they are:
That’s it, hope that’s helpful. I felt like this amazing trip not only give a lot of knowledge to me (since I interviewed top level government official in Jakarta), but also a spiritual refreshment for me. Alhamdulillah,, all thanks to Allah. Hope we can always be someone that is grateful to Allah, can always remember Him, and do a good thing in His way.
