Universitas Gadjah Mada, Tahir Foundation, and Muhammadiyah collaborate in education, health, and job creation to encourage empowerment of farmers, fishermen, and urban blue collars. The tripartite collaboration will last five years that will be implemented by UGM and Muhammadiyah with the funding coming from Tahir Foundation worth Rp250 billion.
Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng., said the tripartite collaboration was specialised on community empowerment in education, health, and job creation. “We’re focusing on education and health,” said the Rector in a Talkshow themed Philanthropy for Community Empowerment on Thursday (1/3) in Grha Sabha Pramana UGM.
In the talkshow moderated by renown presenter Najwa Shihab, the Rector was quoted as saying that UGM would engage up to 7,000 of its students in the Student Community Service programme across the country. “We will dispatch as many as 7,000 students to empower the community each year,” he said.
The target and goal of community service launched by UGM and Muhammadiyah, according to the Rector, were very clear that it drew the interest of Tahir Foundation to collaborate with. UGM will further involve its students for competence enhancement for the job creation. “We will involve the millennial generation in the production of thesis and dissertation. so after graduation, they will be individual that cares for the nation,” he said.
Chairperson of Muhammadiyah, Dr. Haedar Nashir, said Muhammadiyah appreciated the tripartite agreement, saying Muhammadiyah had a long history in community empowerment starting from Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, to Aceh. He said the praxis model of community empowerment done by Muhammadiyah would more accelerate the collaboration.
“Muhammadiyah has the capital for empowerment, so we hope collaborations like this will be more massive to generate philanthropic projects for community empowerment,” said Haedar after signing the tripartite collaboration with the Rector and Tahir Foundation Chairman.
Prof. Dr. Dato’ Sri Tahir, M.B.A.,said the tripartite collaboration with UGM and Muhammadiyah was one of the commitments to encourage Indonesian community building from the outskirts.
Tahir added up to this time, Tahir Foundation prioritised on education and health as their main programme. In his opinion, both could increase the human resource and leaders quality. “Since the start, Tahir family has been committed on education and health because both determine the quality of the nation in the future,” he said.
The philanthropy works they do, according to Tahir, was not a CSR but a commitment to always making contribution to the country. “I’m part of Indonesia. Every time I hear the national anthem, my heart trembles. I want to give back the success I have achieved, even if I have to give all of my belongings to the country,” said the man who has been declared as the fifth richest man in Indonesia.
Tahir hopes that one day Indonesian businessmen would want to do the same service like he has done in philanthropy.