Makassar, South Sulawesi (Antara Bali) - Muhammadiyah, the second-largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, has encouraged the country to compete and perform internationally.
During his keynote address while opening the organization's 47th national congress here on Monday, Muhammadiyah outgoing Chairman Din Samsuddin affirmed that Indonesia should compete with other countries to achieve progress.
Samsuddin remarked that since its establishment in 1912, Muhammadiyah had envisioned becoming Islam "berkemajuan" or "progressive Islam."
He further noted that the organization, along with the other elements of the nation, has contributed to advancing the nation and achieving regional economic development through the ASEAN free trade, or the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
"The government is the strategic partner of Muhammadiyah," Samsuddin stated, adding that the organization has been consistently contributing to the progress of the nation in the fields of education, health, social, and economy.
According to Samsuddin, Muhammadiyah and the government share a proportional relationship, so the organization will continue to be the vanguard for the advancement of the nation.
"Muhammadiyah is a movement with the policy of 'amar makruf nahi munkar' or commanding the good and forbidding the evil, hence if there is a government policy which is not in line with this mandate, the organization will not hesitate to criticize the government," he affirmed.
Further, Samsuddin called on Muhammadiyah's large family in Indonesia and other countries to be appreciative of the successful and smooth implementation of the national congress in Makassar, which was attended by around six thousand participants and representatives from 16 countries.
Chief of Muhammadiyah's International session K.H. Muhyiddin Junaidi stated in Makassar on Sunday that the participants were the representatives from the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Iran, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, among others.
Junaidi further explained that the participants of the Muhammadiyah foreign representatives were enthusiastic to follow the deliberation, especially to discuss the agenda of the sister program for the 2015-2020 period. (WDY)
