Chairul Tanjung Compares Muhammadiyah to CT Corp: Its Progress is Easier

Founder and Chairman of CT Corp, Chairul Tanjung (CT), praised the philosophy of ‘live and serve Muhammadiyah, do not seek to live off Muhammadiyah’. According to him, this philosophy carries a strong message that will help the Muhammadiyah organisation develop further in the future.

This was conveyed by CT when he was a speaker at the Ramadan 1447 H Study at the Muhammadiyah University of Tangerang (UMT), Thursday (26/2/2026). He spoke alongside Anwar Abbas, Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive Board, presenting material on the topic of ‘Experiences in Developing the Economic Welfare of the Ummah’.

CT stated that Muhammadiyah is an extraordinary organisation in terms of governance. He emphasised that thanks to this philosophy, people serve Muhammadiyah sincerely.

“In terms of governance, there is no equal. Because the administrators in Muhammadiyah do not seek to make a living from Muhammadiyah. This is an extraordinary philosophy instilled by the founders of Muhammadiyah,” said CT while speaking to the audience.

However, CT sees modernisation as a key task for Muhammadiyah to develop in the current era. According to him, Muhammadiyah can become a leading organisation by modernising and becoming more open.

“Of course, it needs modernisation, and secondly, it must be more open, so that Muhammadiyah can become number one in the world, not number four. Muhammadiyah can become a symbol for the progress of the Ummah,” he explained.

CT believes that Muhammadiyah has a centralised governance structure. Therefore, according to him, modernisation within the organisation is an easy task.

“(For Nahdlatul Ulama), it must be done pesantren by pesantren. There are foundations, thank God there are foundations under which they can build hospitals, this hospital is already good in Surabaya, they can build Unusa, they have a Faculty of Medicine,” he said.

“Muhammadiyah is easy, talk to one person at the top, and everything is settled below. That’s it. Yes, because it is centralised. So, for all of you, Muhammadiyah is like CT Corp. Yes. If CT Corp, whatever CT says, it happens. Muhammadiyah, whatever Prof. Haedar says, it happens. That’s it, more or less. That’s it. So, its progress is easier, simpler,” he explained.