Pramono: If You Still Question The Contribution Of Islamic Boarding School Kiai, It's Already A WINNer

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung emphasized the great role of santri and kiai in the history of the journey of the Indonesian nation. He said the students had made a real contribution even long before Indonesia's independence.

This was conveyed by Pramono during a gathering on the commemoration of Santri Day at the DKI Jakarta City Hall, which was attended by students, caretakers of Islamic boarding schools, and a number of community organizations (ormas).

According to Pramono, although the determination of Santri Day has a political background, the main essence is recognition of the contribution of students in the formation of national character and education.

Even though there were political events, the most important thing was that before the jihad resolution was read out earlier, students in Indonesia had made an extraordinary contribution to education. Even before there was a formal institution and Indonesia was not yet independent, most of the figures at that time came from Islamic boarding schools," said Pramono, Wednesday, October 22.

Pramono assessed that views that still cast doubt on the role of kiai and ulama in the nation's history showed a lack of understanding of national insight.

"If today there are still those who question the contributions of the kiai, ulama, and pesantren caregivers, in my opinion they have been published," he said.

He added that many national figures studied in Islamic boarding schools, including the first President of the Republic of Indonesia Soekarno.

"If we still question that, it means that we don't really understand the nationality when this republic was founded. Almost all of the nation's leaders at that time studied at Islamic boarding schools, including Bung Karno," said Pramono.

On this occasion, Pramono also reminded the students to have six main strengths as a provision to face the challenges of the times, namely faith, knowledge, charity, morals, unity, and struggle.

No matter how smart, no matter how high, you still have to believe. You are grateful to get knowledge that was immediately obtained in Islamic boarding schools," he said.

"People who are as high as they are, if they don't do charity, their lives will not go smoothly. A person's keyword in any world is moral," added Pramono.

Closing his remarks, the former Cabinet Secretary advised the students to continue to fight and not hope for an easy way of life.

"In life nothing is free, nothing is easy, and nothing can be obtained without hard work. So the struggle is important," he concluded.