Prabowo Urges Gontor Students to Continue the Nation's Struggle

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subiability has called upon the male and female students of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor to continue the struggle of building the Indonesian nation.

“It is you who will take over. You are the ones who will carry on our struggle,” said Prabowo while delivering a speech at the 100th-anniversary thanksgiving reception of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java, on Saturday.

Prabowo stated that the students of Gontor represent the generation that will continue the nation’s struggle in the future. He urged them to uphold the values instilled by Gontor and to do their utmost for the nation and the community.

“Continue the historical calling. Continue your struggle. Do your best for the nation and the community,” Prabowo said.

On this occasion, Prabowo also linked Gontor’s 100-year journey to the ideals instilled by its founders, namely K.H. Ahmad Sahal, K.H. Zainuddin Fananie, and K.H. Imam Zarkasyi. According to Prabowo, the founders of Gontor planted noble ideals that have since expanded and spread across various regions of Indonesia and the world.

Prabowo also reminded the next generation to be brave enough to learn from history and to recognise their own weaknesses. “We must be brave enough to see our weaknesses. It is easy for us to speak grandly. It is difficult for us to see our own shortcomings and our own weaknesses,” he said.

The President expressed his hope that teachers and religious scholars could inspire the next generation to learn from their existing flaws and deficiencies.

Prabwo also cited the ‘Panca Jiwa’ (Five Souls) of Gontor—sincerity, simplicity, self-reliance, Islamic brotherhood, and freedom—as values that align with the struggle to build Indonesia. The President noted that these values, particularly self-reliance, are crucial in the effort to build a nation that can stand on its own feet.

“I always want to be sincere. I always want to be simple. I want our nation to stand on its own feet,” he said.

The 100th-anniversary commemoration of Pondok Pesantren Darussalam Gontor also included the inauguration of the Modern Boarding School Meeting Hall and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Darussalam Gontor by President Prabowo.