Cak Nur, Goenawan win freedom awards

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and poet Goenawan Mohamad were granted the Achmad Bakrie awards from the Freedom Institute (Fins) on Saturday, for their devotion to socio-religious work and literature respectively.

Both Nurcholish, better known as Cak Nur, and Goenawan received a trophy plus Rp 100 million (US$10,250) in prize money.

Cak Nur was unable to attend the ceremony as he is currently been treated at a Beijing hospital for his illness. He was represented by his son.

Goenawan, who is also a senior journalist, was selected for his work, which had inspired a new tradition in the country's literature. The institute said his writing was the product of his deep reflection on freedom.

"Goenawan has proven that language is not only a tool to articulate freedom, but freedom itself," the institute said in a statement.

Formerly a chief editor of Tempo news magazine, Goenawan is now a senior editor of the weekly and continues writing its trademark column Catatan Pinggir (Side Notes).

Nurcholish was selected for propagating Islam as an inclusive, open religion, while remaining critical of the modern world. His ideas on secularization and pluralism are among his most outstanding contributions.

Nurcholish has been rector of Paramadina Mulya University since 1998. He holds a bachelor's degree in Arab literature and a Ph.D. from the Chicago University.

The Freedom Institute also awarded the Achmad Bakrie scholarship to Septinus George Saa -- a Papuan-born high school graduate who recently won an international physics competition in Warsaw.

The scholarship will cover Septinus' study until he obtains a Ph.D. degree at the university his choice, including those in other countries.

Last year's award winners were poet Sapardi Djoko Darmono and scholar Ignas Kleden.

Fins is a non-profit and independent organization, which promotes research and liberty of thought.

The Achmad Bakrie award -- named after entrepreneur Achmad Bakrie, the father of Fins founder businessman Aburizal Bakrie -- is given every August to Indonesian people who are instrumental in the development of the country's social life and literature.