Prabowo: Outstanding Leaders Must Be Selected Through a Rigorous Process
President Prabowo Subianto has emphasised the importance of a sound selection system for identifying outstanding leaders in intellect, physical ability and character.
“Outstanding leaders must be selected properly. A good selection process should identify those who excel not only intellectually, but also physically, in spirit and in heart,” Prabowo said at the inauguration of the Taruna Nusantara Senior High School campus in Cimahi, West Java, on Friday (30 October).
Prabowo said education played a fundamental role in realising the aspirations of the nation’s founders to establish an independent and just country.
“Education starts very early: before birth, through parents’ education, early childhood education, kindergarten, primary school, junior secondary school, senior secondary school and beyond,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of protecting and responsibly managing the nation’s resources to support the development of high-quality education.
Prabowo said access to quality education should be open to all Indonesian children, regardless of their economic background, ethnicity, race or religion.
“The outstanding talents produced by this institution will work, contribute, bring benefits to the country, make discoveries for the country and create wealth for the country,” he said.
At the inauguration of the Taruna Nusantara school’s Cimahi campus, Prabowo said this commitment to equality was one of the institution’s founding principles. Since its establishment, the school has been designed to identify the best talent from across Indonesia.
He said major investment in education must be supported by clean management of national wealth, free from corruption, misappropriation and abuse of authority.
“That is why the nation’s resources must be secured and protected. They must not be stolen, misappropriated or corrupted. Corruption, misappropriation and abuse of authority are, in fact, the beginning of a nation’s decline,” he said.