Bima Arya Sugiarto Emphasizes Strengthening the Character of the Young Generation

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto. (Kemendagri)

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto emphasized the importance of strengthening the character of the younger generation through the cultivation of cultural, moral, and national values as the foundation for preparing Indonesia's future leaders.

"Great civilizations are supported by knowledge and maintained by character. Therefore, our task today is to focus on building character and carrying back the noble values inherited by our predecessors," said Bima when attending the inauguration of the Indonesian Association of Indonesian Scholars (ISMI) in Jakarta, Saturday.

Bima said the progress of a nation is not only determined by the mastery of science, but also by a strong character.

According to him, the challenge of character formation is getting bigger as social media development allows information to spread quickly without always being accompanied by the verification process.

Therefore, young generations need to be equipped with critical thinking, ethics, and wisdom to be able to filter information and stick to the truth.

Bima assessed that efforts to prepare the next generation of the nation were not enough just through formal education and competence improvement. Character and integrity, he said, must go hand in hand with intelligence to be able to produce qualified and responsible leaders.

On this occasion, Bima also invited the younger generation to have global insight without abandoning the roots of culture and national identity.

"Malay is cosmopolitan. Tracing the Malay earth, standing on the earth of Nusantara, and looking at the world. That is our nation's founders. They set out from local culture, think in a national frame, and work at the global level," he said.

Furthermore, Bima said that the Malay intellectual tradition has produced many figures who have contributed to the nation, such as Raja Ali Haji and Buya Hamka.

According to him, the thoughts and examples of these figures are still relevant in building the character of the younger generation in the midst of various challenges of the times.

Therefore, Bima hopes that ISMI can become an active space to revive cultural, ethical, and national values through various educational activities and the development of thinking.

This effort, he continued, is important to prepare young generations who are able to answer future challenges while taking advantage of the demographic bonus opportunities towards Indonesia Emas 2045.