Jokowi Asks PBNU Kiai To Return Ainun Najib, Who Is Currently Working At A Singapore Company

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Screenshot)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) encouraged the Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) to bring home one of the nation's children, Ainun Najib from Singapore. He even said that the NU kiai had to intervene so that the technology practitioner would return to his country.

This was conveyed when he was present at the inauguration of the Executive Board and the 96th Birthday of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Initially, Jokowi said that Nahdlatul Ulama had contributed a lot at home and abroad. In fact, this religious-based community organization has young talents scattered in various professions and this is needed to roll out the national strategic agenda.

"NU is a huge potential for the nation. There are more and more great young talents at NU who are spread across various professions," Jokowi said as quoted from the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Monday, January 31.

"If this network is mobilized to be consolidated to roll out the agenda of the national strategic agenda, this will be a great power with great potential to accelerate the resolution of national and humanitarian problems," he added.

The former governor of DKI Jakarta even imagines that in the future NU will have a complete database of its congregations with the help of digital technology, even using block chains and artificial intelligence.

In addition, Jokowi said that it was very possible for NU to have its own marketplace to have an edutech platform to other platforms that facilitate millions of students. This, he continued, is very likely to happen because NU has good human resources (HR) and understands this.

One example of reliable human resources is Ainun Najib who is currently working in Singapore. Jokowi said Ainun could do a lot of things so he had to return to Indonesia to develop technology in the country, including in the NU environment.

"He has been working in Singapore for a long time. Seven years ago I met him, he could do everything. Anything is possible. He is still very young, his name is Mas Ainun Najib. NU," he said.

Jokowi believes Ainun is certainly paid very high in Singapore. However, he is sure that Ainun will return to his country if the kiai from NU talk to him.

"There, the salary is very high. So if you are invited here, you must be able to pay more than those in Singapore. This will be Mr. Kiai's job later. If he is the one who is doing the job, whatever salary you are paid, bismillah, you will definitely want to," he said. Furthermore, Jokowi asked NU provides space for millennials to take a central role. Moreover, the millennial generation of NU has been engaged in many fields.

"We need to provide greater space for NU residents from the millennial generation, from the Gen Z generation to appear and take a central role in the development of a new Indonesia," said Jokowi.

"NU youth who are active in the creative industry in fashion designers, graphic designers and others, NU youth who are IT specialists, programmers, IT security expert web developers and others, there are so many, these must be taken and utilized," he concluded.