UNAIR NEWS – Two influential national figures received the Soetandyo Award 2021 from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP). Both were the Grand Imam of the Jakarta Istiqlal Mosque, Prof. Dr. H. Nasaruddin Umar, MA and psychologist, Alissa Qotrunnada Munawaroh Wahid.
FISIP UNAIR’s annual award ceremony aims to honor Prof. Soetandyo’s dedication in developing social sciences and human rights (HAM). The Soetandyo Award also encourages the birth of young leaders who have concerns and the ability to develop Soetandyo’s spirit in the fields of social science and human rights.
The Dean of FISIP UNAIR, Prof. Bagong Suyanto, revealed that Prof. Soetandyo was the founder of FISIP UNAIR who had an extraordinary spirit of multiculturalism. Therefore, FISIP initiated the Soetandyo Award, which has been held for seven years.
“When establishing FISIP, Prof. Soetandyo’s principle was that each department should not stand alone. Each department could learn other sciences, greet each other, and become a generalist. That’s why we choose and appreciate figures with the Soetandyo Award,” said Prof. Bagong.
Drs. Gitadi Tegas Supramudyo, M.Si as the representative of the jury team, said that there were various stages of assessment before the final decision of two names as award recipients. The values of humanity, human rights, and egalitarianism are passions carried in the awarding.
“When we had a dialogue with Prof Nasar, he said, ‘if there is a better candidate than me, please go ahead.’ Well, it was his simplicity and humility that became one of the decisive points. The same went to Alissa Wahid,” said Gitadi.
Meanwhile, simplicity, humility, and great attention to human rights and gender equality are the values that brought the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Prof. Nasarudin, to receive the award. Deputy Minister of Religion 2011-2014 even sees the Soetandyo Award as a mandate. He is ready for the award to be revoked if he makes a mistake in the future.
“I’m not a perfect human. I am a child from a remote village who even had to pass through the mountains and lakes in Sulawesi only to go to the sub-district. I have nothing but to bring the principles of the Prophet’s hadith and the Qur’an which teach love to living beings,” said the figure who has studied at six foreign universities, from Leiden University in the Netherlands, George Town University in the US, to Paris University in France. (*)
Author: Binti Q. Masruroh
