The debt must be repaid and redeemed. The debt of gratitude is not only to the campus, but to all affairs.
JAKARTA | KBA – One day there was a hint that Anies Baswedan was elected as Governor of Jakarta Provincial Government not because of his ability, but because of the big name of his alma mater, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Yogyakarta.
“For me, the UGM campus is not a place to study, but a place to live,” said Anies while talking on the Total Politics Podcast with the theme Anies Baswedan Baper Flooding Criticism? with hosts Budi Adi Putro and Ari Putra quoted by KBA News, Thursday, January 20, 2022.
Anies said that his childhood home was only about 500 meters from the UGM campus. The elementary school is also located on the UGM campus, namely in the lecturer’s residence. The name of the school is SD Laboratori 2 IKIP Yogyakarta.
“I played as a child in the campus area, until then I studied at UGM,” he said.
College and organizational experiences that broaden his knowledge, he is grateful for as an accumulation of experience that cannot be replaced. Anies said that in the 1990s UGM was relatively distant from power. When the New Order regime was at its strongest, those in Yogyakarta could distance themselves from the regime.
“At that time, we had already talked about democratization, differences of opinion with power, which we knew would end in reform. So UGM is a place where the organization’s experience grows rapidly. Now, if you say that there are many Gadjah Mada alumni, yes, it has always been like that,” he said.
Anies said UGM graduates are all over Indonesia. In fact, compared to graduates from other state universities, UGM graduates are probably the most in the regions.
This condition is possible because UGM students who come from the region, once graduated, go directly to their home region to work. It’s different, for example, with a public campus in Jakarta, for example, once you graduate, you work in the capital city as well.
“In the past, when I was on assignment to a region, district or province, I met not one or two Gadjah Mada graduates, but many. Once upon a time, I was in a city in West Sumatra. I was invited to visit a small zoo in Sawahlunto. There, I met a veterinarian. After I asked, I just graduated straight away, where did you at Gadjah Mada come from, he said.”
So what is Anies’ contribution to Kagama (Alumni Association of University of Gadjah Mada)
Anies emphasized that everyone has a debt of gratitude to the republic that must be repaid and redeemed. The debt of gratitude is not only to the campus, but to all affairs.
“In the past, when it came to fundraising for scholarships for children, students, Indonesia Mengajar, I never said I was inviting you to donate. I say, invite you to pay back for what this republic gave. Pay it back through what, pay for each of these children until they finish college. Pay for these children to study until they graduate, so the fees you have received so far are paid in full.”
Anies did not invite them to donate with an excuse, if you donate it means they have everything.
“Well, who were you? Is it because of your education that you become a person? Well, now we invite you to pay back to the republic. What I did was invite many people who wanted to do good for the progress of the republic, especially at that time through education,” he said.
His enthusiasm, said Anies, was to inherit what his seniors did while studying at UGM. He mentioned former UGM Rector Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri who mobilized student staff to remote areas in the country.
“So, the way we pay off debt to the republic is not by glorifying this republic, by praising it, but rather by inviting many people to do good for the progress of the nation and the republic. Weaving nationality,” he said.
So far, Anies admits that he is just a member of Kagama and is not in the management. He emphasized that there was no problem with the top leadership of Kagama, Ganjar Pranowo. Anies said that Ganjar was of the same generation when he was studying at UGM, but was three levels above Anies.
“On campus, there was one activity with him, but not for long,” he said. (kba)
