Innovation and Integrity Key to Building a Globally Competitive Indonesian Generation, Says Yusril

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has stressed that innovation, integrity, and a commitment to lifelong learning are key to building a globally competitive Indonesian generation. Speaking at a graduation seminar for Universitas Terbuka’s 2025/2026 academic year in Jakarta on Monday, he described these qualities as the primary foundation for producing a generation capable of addressing global challenges. “Technological advances, including artificial intelligence, will not replace the role of humans who possess character, ethics, and critical thinking skills,” he stated.

Yusril encouraged prospective graduates to view their graduation not as the end of their academic journey, but as the beginning of a lifelong learning process. He praised the students for completing their education while managing various responsibilities, from working and caring for families to serving the community. Sharing his own experience of attending high school in the afternoons and evenings in Belitung before being accepted into the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia, he said limitations should never be a barrier to pursuing higher education.

He also underscored the importance of being open to diverse bodies of knowledge, arguing that an Indonesian intellectual must be able to understand Western, Eastern, and Islamic thought without losing their national identity. Addressing the rise of artificial intelligence, he acknowledged that AI has transformed how people work and make decisions, but insisted that human abilities such as contextual understanding and building humanitarian values remain irreplaceable. He expressed hope that higher education would produce graduates who are adaptive to technological developments while understanding interconnected social, legal, economic, and geopolitical dynamics.

Discussing the seminar’s theme, Yusril said innovation arises from sensitivity to societal problems, and that a nation’s progress is measured not by the absence of problems, but by the number of educated individuals willing to solve them. He described integrity as the most valuable social asset, reflected in the consistency between one’s thoughts, words, and actions, and tested when one has the opportunity to act dishonestly without being caught. He reminded the audience that trust takes a long time to build but can be destroyed by a single act of dishonesty. He also noted that law enforcement must be grounded in ethics and conscience to deliver true justice. Universitas Terbuka Rector Ali Muktiyanto stated that the university currently has around 2.3 million alumni and nearly 900,000 active students across Indonesia, and expressed hope that the minister’s presence would inspire graduates to continue learning, uphold integrity, and contribute to national development.