House member urges youth to fill independence with self-improvement
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Hendry Munief has urged the younger generation to fill independence by improving their quality through education, character, creativity and real contribution to society.
According to him, young people have a strategic role in continuing the nation’s struggle through building capacity and character.
“If in the past young people fought to seize and defend independence, then today’s youth have the task of filling independence with knowledge, good character, creativity, hard work and real contribution to the nation,” Hendry said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.
The statement was made when he served as the ceremony inspector for the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia at Al Fikri School in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Monday.
He emphasised three provisions that young people need to strengthen: the Qur’an as a guide for life, akhlakul karimah (noble character) as the foundation for character building, and academic achievement to improve ability and open opportunities in the future.
“The Qur’an guides the heart and direction of life, akhlakul karimah shapes personality, while knowledge and academic achievement prepare the ability to work and benefit others,” he said.
Hendry also recounted the story of Mus’ab bin Umair, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who was sent to Medina to teach the Qur’an and guide the community. According to him, the story shows that young people can contribute to society without having to wait until adulthood.
“Young people who have knowledge, character, courage and communication skills can become agents of change in society,” he said.
On the occasion, Hendry also told the story of Al Fikri School, which was built in 2010 with 10 students, nine of whom came from underprivileged families. He said the school was directed from the beginning to provide access to education for people in need.
“We resolved that the establishment of the Al Fikri foundation was in order to provide proper education to the nation’s young generation, especially to the underprivileged. Alhamdulillah, Allah has made everything easy, and now the students number in the thousands. Those receiving scholarships already number in the hundreds,” Hendry said.
He expressed hope that the young generation of Riau will grow into human resources who are academically excellent, strong in character, and able to benefit society and the nation.