Jakarta. Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has reminded all stakeholders, from civil society, communities, and corporations, to reflect on Idul Adha as the momentum to intensify their contributions to cushion the economy from the pandemic impacts and speed up national recovery. 

Ma'ruf was speaking at at the opening of the Huawei Indonesia Qurban untuk Negeri on Tuesday. Also attending the event were Sharia Economy Society (MES) secretary-general Iggi Haruman Achsien, Muhammadiyah's central executive board chairman Haedar Nashir, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) halal head Sholahuddin Al Aiyub. Nahdatul Ulama legal head Robikin Emhas and Huawei Indonesia chief executive officer Jacky Chen also attended the event.  

In his opening address, Ma'ruf Amin emphasized the essence of qurban ('sacrifice') during the pandemic is the spirit of helping others, especially those in need. He said that qurban could take the form of anything, according to the needs and abilities of the people.

“Idul Adha is a moment for us to remember the importance of doing qurban to help each other," Ma'ruf said. 

"The pandemic has caused many troubles, from job losses, poverty to threats to our health and well-being. I invite everyone to do qurban by setting aside what we have to help them,” he said.

“The recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases in our beloved Indonesia should be a push for us all to do more in our qurban wholeheartedly to overcome the pandemic. I thank all stakeholders taking part in this Qurban untuk Negeri event, that is, Huawei and Muslim communities, for using this as a momentum to reinvigorate the spirit of qurban in contributing for the greatest sake of the common good and society’s well-being,” he said.

In a statement, MES chairman Erick Thohir said qurban is one of the avenues to distribute wealth, promote equality and push economic growth.

"Idul-Adha should be a good momentum to put the interests of the entire society above everything else. During this pandemic, we invite all parties to combine efforts to pump up our optimism, hopes, and confidence that we can overcome this difficult situation by going hand-in-hand together," he said.

"I would like to thank His Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, MUI, PBNU, Muhammadiyah, and Huawei Indonesia for making this qurban event happen." 

According to Huawei Indonesia chief executive officer Jacky Chen, the company welcomes the vice president’s and MES’s encouragement regarding Qurban untuk Negeri. He said that the encouragement is in line with Huawei’s commitment to Indonesia since it first opened its doors in Indonesia over 21 years ago.

“The values of Idul Adha spur us to resume our contributions, namely our ICT expertise, for the sake of the nation’s advancement and prosperity. We have also built emergency infrastructures in islands that served as quarantine areas in the early stages of the pandemic and contributed our cloud-based technologies to hospitals to improve Covid-19 diagnosis as well as educational institutions to support remote learning," Jacky said.

"Through Qurban untuk Negeri, as part of Huawei I Do Care, we hope to be able to share our spirit, hope, and optimism with the people of Indonesia as we fight against the Covid-19 pandemic together,” he said.

Other than reaffirming its commitment to contribute its technology to accelerate recovery from Covid-19, Qurban untuk Negeri sees Huawei donating qurban animals to 15 cities located in the 4 regions where Huawei Indonesia operates: Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Lombok, Bali, Medan, Pekanbaru, Lampung, Palembang, Makassar, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, and Pontianak. 

Muhammadiyah's Haedar Nashir said he hoped the celebration would forge stronger bonds among Indonesians. 

“On behalf of Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah, I would like to appreciate Huawei Indonesia’s qurban donation in commemoration of Idul Adha 1442H and its power to forge stronger bonds. This positive activity helps strengthen the nation’s ties and togetherness," Haedar said. 

"Furthermore, the activity also means greater unity between Muslims and Indonesians as part of the same body: supporting each other, protecting each other, and uniting to yield greater benefits and advancements to many,” he said.

Haedar said that the activity would also encourage Muslims to donate and cultivate the spirit of giving and helping those in need. Empowered by the spirit of togetherness and Idul-Adha, hopefully, the entire nation may sow the seeds of goodness, progress, and unity to grow into the nation’s strategic pillars in the future.