My Father is My Teacher: Cabinet Secretary

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung speaks in an interview at his office, Jakarta. (Photo by: Jay/PR)

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung spoke about his early education days to commemorate National Education Day which falls on 2 May.

“Teachers do not necessarily mean those who teach at schools. Teachers can also be in our families. In my case, my father is my teacher,” he said in an interview at his office, Jakarta.

According to Pramono, education is valuable, including the simplest teachings from his parents, such as to come on time and to be disciplined. “I was among those who almost never came late. It is better to wait than to be late,” Pramono said, adding that the good characters can be formed by applying them on both school and home educations.

Pramono explained that Education Day should not only be interpreted as education in school but everywhere in our daily lives. “That is the essence of education day,” he said.

Pramono went on to say that anything related to education is very important to his children and to his work environment. Education, he added, should also be meaningful and have benefits.

“So, I always communicate with my family, my staff, and the Indonesian people that we must work hard and earnestly without setting aside happiness. Because what makes us strong is not the position at the office but the excitement in work,” Pramono said.

Pramono also said he fully supports the implementation of ??anti-corruption education in school curriculum but the implementation is not enough.

“Anti-corruption characteristics must be manifested inherently within yourselves because corruption is like opium; no matter how rich someone become from committing corruption, they would never be satisfied as the nature of corruption is addicting.

The Cabinet Secretary also emphasized that anti-corruption education must be taught, not only at schools but also in daily life.

If Indonesia wants to become the world’s fourth or fifth most powerful economies, he added, the country must escape the middle-income trap and to do so, Indonesian human resources must be able to compete globally.

Pramono also explained that the Government in the final year of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration has shifted from infrastructure development to human resources development. “We need strong human resources. We are sure that we will enjoy a demographic dividend which is predicted to occur in 2025-2030. We believe we will escape the middle-income trap,” Pramono stated.

Pramono further said that powerful nations have strong human resources, for example, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. “For that reason, I believe the priority set by President Jokowi to improve our human resources will be our foundation to become a great nation in the year 2040-2045,” he said. (AIT/SLN/JAY/ES)

Translated by : Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Edited by : Rany Anjany S., M. Ersan Pamungkas