Fostering ties at Azzainiyyah Pesantren, Bahlil provides motivation to santri

Jakarta — The General Chairman of the Golkar Party, Bahlil Lahadalia, gave motivation to the santri during a Silaturahmi and Safari Ramadhan event at Ponpes Azzainiyyah in Sukabumi, West Java, on Sunday.

He opened his talk by recounting his background:

‘I was born into a family that was not well off. My mother was just a domestic helper in someone’s home. My father was a building worker. Since I was in junior high, I already worked as a minibus conductor at the terminal, selling cakes.’

Nevertheless, he emphasised that a family background does not guarantee a child’s future. Rather, future success lies in the hands of the child themselves. He believes the santri can also succeed if they have strong determination.

‘So, for the children who are orphans, or whose families are not able like mine once were, you must stay spirited to conquer the future. It is not the clever who beats the stupid, not the rich who beats the poor, not the strong who beats the weak, but the fast who defeats the slow,’ he said.

He cited himself as fast, resilient, and battle-ready, capable of making him the General Chairman of the Golkar Party.

Moreover, he said, opportunity is also opened by Golkar, which accepts all cadres and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or race.

‘In my view, in the history of the Indonesian political civilization, the only party that can claim to be an open party with the condition that its general chairman has come from Sumatra to Papua is Golkar,’ he said.