MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, YOGYAKARTA — President of Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir warmly welcomed a visit from a delegation from the Malaysian Embassy to Indonesia at the Muhammadiyah headquarters, Yogyakarta on Friday, November 8.
The Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Dato’ Syed Mohamad Hasrin Tengku Hussin stated that the visit aimed to strengthen cooperation between Malaysia and Muhammadiyah, particularly in the fields of education, science and technology, and international socio-politics.
“We are pleased and grateful for your visit. Muhammadiyah has strong relations with Malaysia, especially with the establishment of Universiti Muhammadiyah Malaysia (UMAM),” he said.
Haedar hoped that this close relationship would continue to support the improvement of education quality in both countries.
“We hope that Southeast Asia can become a center for moderate Islamic studies and develop as a model of peaceful Islamic understanding. We have great potential as a kindred people to realize this,” Haedar added.
Haedar also emphasized the importance of improving the quality of education and the economy for Muslims to become “khair ummah” or the best community that can contribute to global civilization. He mentioned that Muhammadiyah continues to strive to strengthen the economy and education for the ummah so that it can become a blessing for all worlds (rahmatan lil ‘alamin).
Meanwhile, Dato’ Syed Mohamad Hasrin Tengku Hussin emphasized the importance of cooperation with Indonesia.
“This is also a great hope of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Islam in Southeast Asia has a uniqueness and can be known more widely as moderate Islam,” he explained.
Dato’ Hasrin also highlighted the issue of Palestinian independence as a common concern.
“We continue to support the struggle for Palestine, especially through humanitarian and health assistance. I am pleased that Palestinian independence is also a primary mission of the Indonesian government,” he said.
