Anwar Abbas Praises CT as a Successful Entrepreneur, Urges Muhammadiyah Members to Follow Suit

Muhammadiyah’s central board chairman, Anwar Abbas, praised the hard work of CT Corp’s founder and chairman, Chairul Tanjung (CT), in establishing his business, which is now successful. According to him, CT’s success is due to his strong work ethic.

“Why is Mr. Chairul Tanjung successful? He already answered that earlier, because he works hard,” said Anwar Abbas during a Ramadan discussion at the Muhammadiyah University of Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday (26/2/2026).

Anwar admitted that he was once curious about what it takes for someone to succeed in building their business. At one point, he asked CT what time he left for and returned from work.

“The answer surprised me. He leaves home at 7 a.m. and returns at midnight, and sometimes at 1 a.m., right?” he said, confirming with CT, who was sitting next to him.

“That was when I was younger, now…” CT replied with a laugh.

Anwar said that CT is one of those who follows the Sunnah (teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad). “Because in my opinion, they are wealthy because they follow the Sunnatullah (laws of God). If you want to be rich, don’t be a civil servant. If you want to be rich, don’t be a lecturer,” he explained.

Anwar then expressed his hope that Muhammadiyah members could emulate CT. “If you want to be rich, you have to be an entrepreneur. This is an example, like Mr. CT. If you don’t believe it, let’s have him practice as a dentist again,” he said.

Anwar also expressed his desire to encourage more Muhammadiyah members to become entrepreneurs. He wants the number to increase.

“What will we take home, especially after discussing with Mr. CT? We must transform our people. Maybe not all of them, but we can transform the mentality of 20% of them, from an employee mentality to an entrepreneurial mentality,” he said.