Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inauguration of the 48th National Congress of Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah, at Manahan Stadium, Surakarta City, 19 November 2022
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Alhamdulillahi robbil alamin, washolatu wassalamu ‘ala sayyidina, wa maulana Muhammadin, wa ‘ala alihi wasohbihi ajma’in. Amma ba’du.
Honorable Heads of State Institutions attending this congress, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chair of Judicial Commission;
Honorable the 10th and 12th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Bapak Jusuf Kalla and Ibu Mufidah;
Honorable Ministers of Indonesia Onward Cabinet;
Honorable Chairperson of Muhammadiyah Organization Prof. Dr. K. H. Haedar Nashir and the Board of Executive;
Honorable Chairperson of Aisyiyah Ibu Siti Hajah Noordjanah Djohantini and the Board of Executive;
Honorable global religious figures attending this congress, His Excellency Vice Sheikh of Al Azhar,
His Excellency Representative of the Vatican City, His Excellency Mufti of Bosnia, His Excellency Advisor to the Mufti of Lebanon, and official of the World Bank;
Honorable Bapak Prof. Din Syamsudin and attending senior figures of Muhammadiyah;
Honorable Muhammadiyah Leaders at provinces, regencies, subdistricts, and villages throughout Indonesia and international branches.
Honorable Chair and Leaders of Autonomy Organizations under Muhammadiyah throughout Indonesia;
Honorable Big Family of Muhammadiyah that I am proud of;
Attendees who are so enthusiastic and grateful this morning that I love and I am proud of;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am so grateful, I am so happy, and feel highly honored to attend the Muhammadiyah dan ‘Aisyiyah National Congress today. Alhamdulillah, Bu Iriana and I can meet all of you, Ladies and Gentlemen.
After visiting Cambodia for four days, then I went to Bali for the G20 Summit for three days. And, two days ago I visited Bangkok, Thailand, for two days. Last night I was still in Bangkok, and then arrived at Solo city at 11.00 p.m. The APEC Summit is supposed to conclude this evening, but since I respect the invitation from the Boards of Executive of Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah, I left the summit earlier before other leaders, so I can meet all of you, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Chairperson of Muhammadiyah and Chairperson of Aisyiyah, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this very respectable forum, first, I would like to express my appreciation to the big families of Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah for their support in the handling of COVID-19 pandemic in the last three years, thank you. I thank you for generating more than 120 Muhammadiyah hospitals and 235 Muhammadiyah health clinics that have actively educated the people, and providing medication and vaccination during the pandemic. Alhamdulillah, Indonesia is one of the countries which have successfully controlled the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also among the countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination jabs in the world, because we have injected more than 440 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the people. Our success in handling the pandemic has been an important foundation in our national economic recovery.
Pandemic is not fully over, yet another issue comes up. The war in Ukraine has hindered global supply chain, so food prices are rising, and the prices of oil and electricity are skyrocketing in the whole world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Amidst very tough, difficult, and uneasy global challenges, alhamdulillah, we can manage our economic recovery well. Our inflation, alhamdulillah, is still under control at approximately 5.7 percent. It means that the average of price increase is around 5 percent. This is much lower than the average global inflation, the average inflation in all countries. We have to be grateful for this. Alhamdulillah, Indonesia’s economic performance is also quite satisfying and we should also be grateful for this because at the third quarter, our economic can grow at 5.72 percent. Our trade also increases at 58 percent.
We also continue to carry out national trasformation. We cannot only export raw materials as has been done for decades. We have to carry out industrial downstreaming domestically in order to gain added value. We also have to promote our micro, small, and medium enterprises (UMKM) to upgrade their level with digitalization and by entering digital platforms to create job opportunities and gain added value to a maximal degree in our own country.
We also make efforts to contribute to the world through G20 presidency in 2022, through ASEAN chairmanship that we will assume next year, and through our membership in Champions of the Global Crisis Response Group of the United Nations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In dealing with the increasing global competition, we need to focus on developing the quality of the human resources as well as applying science and technology. Thanks to the big family of Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah that have greatly contributed through more than 170 colleges owned by Muhammadiyah, 1,364 senior high schools/equivalent level institutions, 1,826 junior high schools/equivalent level institutions, 2,817 elementary schools/equivalent level institutions, and 20,233 kindergartens, early childhood education and development, and playgroups owned by Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah, as well as 440 Islamic boarding schools.
Through these educational institutions, I express the hope that all of you, Ladies and Gentlemen, will continue to play central roles in advancing Islam that promotes advancement, values of tolerance, maintains unity, brotherhood and peace, according to the principle saying that Islam is a blessing for the universe. Indonesia provides plenty of room to disseminate Islamic values compared to other muslim countries in South-East Asia and Middle East. Many privileges provided for Islamic ummah in Indonesia which are not regulated by the state, such as in delivering religious lectures, inviting religious lecturers, delivering Friday sermons, celebrating Islamic big days, calling to pray, and collecting Islamic social funds. Additionally, through Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah educational institutions, I called on them to strengthen their education for a sustainable and environment-friendly development.
I need to emphasize that human dependence on nature is very high, let alone that Indonesian natural potentials are enormous, be it on the land or in the sea. So, we need to use them wisely. Therefore, I hope all of you, Ladies and Gentlemen, besides the principles of hablum minallah (relationship between human and Allah the God) and hablum minannas (relationship among human being), please support the principle of hablum minal alam (relationship between human and the nature) which emphasizes the importance of natural and environment sustainability
Ladies and gentlemen,
Through our mutual cooperation, I believe that Indonesia will strive to advance in the midst of a gloomy world. With the supports of the big family of Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah, Indonesia can be a bright spot in a bleak world. Indonesia is like the sun that brightens up the world. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, God the Most Merciful, give His blessings to Indonesian people.
I conclude my remarks on this wonderful opportunities. Have a great congress, and by saying bismillahirrahmanirrrahim, today, I declare the 48th National Congress of Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah open.
I thank you.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. (AW/HD/LW)