President Director of PT. Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Pelindo III), Saefudin Noer, handed over aid worth Rp 5 billion to construct the Mardliyyah Islamic Center UGM building on Friday (18/12). The aid was symbolically handed over to UGM Rector, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D. Eng., in the lobby of the Mardliyyah Mosque, located just south of Sardjito Hospital.
Saefudin Noer said the aid is a part of the Pelindo III environmental development program. These activities cover the fields of education, health, and natural disasters. According to him, the funding for constructing the UGM mardliyah mosque is part of educational and spiritual activities in the campus area.
“Hopefully, it can be useful for UGM and the students,” he said.
He said that so far this year, IDR 40 billion of environmental program funds had been granted, and most of it was to help deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. “This week, we have distributed 12,000 health packages for the prevention of COVID-19 after the elections,” he said.
It is not enough for assistance alone, he also asked UGM to encourage its experts in the marine and maritime industry to give their thoughts in developing business in the port sector. “In the future, we are open to other collaborations. We want input from experts because we operate in mangrove and coastal areas,” he said.
UGM Rector, Panut Mulyono, expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the funding provided by Pelindo III. According to him, it will accelerate the construction of the Mardliyyah mosque, which is almost complete. The Rector said that the existence of the Islamic Center on the UGM campus is expected to encourage spiritual and character development activities for students to prevent the spread of radical ideas.
“We want students not only to be qualified in science but also to have a strong character in religious and national values because currently there is a problem with radical sects. We want to reaffirm the character of our graduates in their understanding and perspective on the life of the nation to be stronger,” he said.
