Jokowi Wants PBNU To Invite Ainun Najib To Return To Indonesia, Indonesian Ambassador To Singapore Suryopratomo Has This Suggestion

JAKARTA - President Jokowi said that someone like Ainun Najib who was smart, accomplished and had useful works could be brought home to build Indonesia. Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Suryopratomo has his own opinion if Ainun really wants to be invited home.

Jokowi hopes that the PBNU management will be able to persuade Ainun to return to Indonesia and dedicate his knowledge and abilities to the development of the Indonesian state and nation. This nation needs a workforce like Ainun who has been proven to be able to work in multinational companies operating in Singapore. This hope was conveyed by the president at the Inauguration of the PBNU Management and Harlah Nahdlatul Ulama in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Monday, January 31.

Since Jokowi said this, Ainun Najib's name has skyrocketed. Print and electronic media coverage of him began to increase in quantity. Ainun Najib's keywords have drastically increased the number of searches on Google.

According to Suryopratomo, people like Ainun are not only asked to go home, but a 'field' must be prepared for him to apply the knowledge and skills he has. "He (Ainun Najib) is a creative kid, he now holds scientific data for Grab Singapore. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics or the Ministry of Creative Economy can provide a place for them. Great people gathered together like Silicon Valley," he told VOI who contacted him Monday, January 31.

“They have to have space for expression, they must also prepare a budget. The research budget must be prepared adequately. Otherwise they can't do the experiment. It all starts with an idea and has to be put into a work,” he said.

According to Tommy, the question of the results of the experiment, as he is usually called, is the next matter. “It can work and it doesn't work, not because once the experiment failed and then we asked him to stop and criticize that person. Then think the person is meaningless. Everyone is given the first opportunity to develop. There were 1,000 experiments carried out and being able to come up with only 10 was incredible. America does that and they have a conducive environment for creative people to thrive. This is a challenge for all of us. Where is the place like Silicon Valley which is said to be built in Bandung and Bali, how will it go?” he said.

Tommy praised the figure of Ainun Najib who has been active at the international level but has not left his trademark. “Ainun Najib is okay, an Indonesian figure who has a good religion but modern insight, broad mind and not partisan. This is the figure we need, if Pak Habibie's terms are imtak (faith and piety) and technology, this is the figure we need," he explained.

He continued that Indonesia needed a lot of people like Ainun Najib. "I think once again Indonesia needs people who have bright ideas, creative people and if they want and are ready to build this country, once again they need to prepare good fields. Then the great seed can grow well, not in a barren field. He is placed in a field that is fertile, the weather is good, the temperature is good, it will certainly grow optimally, and will produce something good. So let's create a good field for the diaspora to work for this country," he said.

Hopefully, Suryopratomo's hopes are like those of President Jokowi, who asked the PBNU management to invite Ainun Najib home, to be realized. And most importantly, there are government or private agencies or institutions that can accommodate him and other diaspora who want to return to Indonesia.