Through the Kagama Network UGM Can Give Birth to National Leaders, What about the ULM Alumni Network?

THE TREATMENT of national leadership is currently still controlled by the alumni network of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) through the Gadjah Mada University Alumni Family (Kagama) which is well established in Indonesia, even overseas. class of 1980, so that he could lead Indonesia for two terms. In fact, alumni of the well-known campus in Yogyakarta have also been attracted to ministerial ranks. Now, the candidates for national leadership, including those who hold political party control such as Airlangga Hartato, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the Chair of the Golkar Party DPP, are alumni of the Faculty of Engineering UGM. Then, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, the former governor of DKI Jakarta who is now supported by the NasDem and PKS parties as well as the Democratic Party in the Coalition for Change also comes from UGM, to be precise from the Faculty of Economics class of 1989.

There is also, Ganjar Pranowo, the governor of Central Java who is also predicted to run for the 2024 presidential election, who is an alumnus of the UGM Faculty of Law. Including, Deputy Speaker of the Republic of Indonesia DPR from the PKB faction, Muhaimin Iskandar (Chairman of the PKB DPP) also joined the UGM extended family, after completing his studies at FISIP. Even though in the national realm, there is also a network of the University of Indonesia (UI), the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) , Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), Hasanuddin University (Unhas) and others also have quite influential networks. How about Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM), which was originally called Unlam? Political anthropologist and ethnologist FISIP ULM, Setia Budhi, acknowledged that the UGM alumni network through Kagama has proven to be effective in producing national leaders or candidates.

“Kagama’s network has indeed proven to be very broad. In fact, they can position their alumni to become leaders on a national scale. This should also be carried out by ULM or Unlam,” said Setia Budhi, Friday (24/1/2023). He did not deny that many national figures such as Unlam alumni, such as Prof. Gusti Muhammad Hatta who had served as Minister of Research and Technology and Minister of State Environment in the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Although previously, there were also names of Banua figures who nationalized from Golkar, such as Syamsul Mu’arif who became Minister of State for Communication and Information in the Gotong Royong Cabinet; Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hamzah Haz, are alumni of IAIN (now UIN) Antasari Banjarmasin.

So, Unlam alumni can actually not only occupy positions as regional leaders, such as regional heads or strategic positions in South Kalimantan, but also nationally. This is why it is necessary to build a network that is strong and neatly patterned, like Kagama,” said the doctor who graduated from the National University of Malaysia. For Setia Budhi, it is time for the ULM Alumni Family Association (IKA) to take a bigger role, because currently East Kalimantan is the capital. State (IKN) of the Archipelago, so that this opportunity can be put to good use. “At least ULM alumni can make a big contribution to Kalimantan. Yes, it can place Banua figures on a national and regional scale to take a bigger role in IKN Nusantara,” said the Head of the ULM FISIP Sociology Study Program.

“At least ULM alumni can make a big contribution to Kalimantan. Yes, it can place Banua figures on a national and regional scale to take a bigger role in IKN Nusantara,” said the Head of the ULM FISIP Sociology Study Program. For Setia Budhi, ULM’s human resources (HR) and its graduates are not inferior to graduates from other universities in Indonesia. However, he said, it is important to build a strong, structured and patterned network.

“At least, ULM can host it in Kalimantan. This can prove itself as the oldest university on the island of Borneo. This is because many ULM alumni are graduates from the United States, Europe, Japan and other developed countries. However, what comes to the fore is not to highlight the institution, but only individually or personally,” explained Setia Budhi. The founder of Peatland Studie based in Banjarmasin said the task for ULM Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmad Alim Bachri was to sell institutional excellence, not on a personal basis. Namely, ULM which excels in the study of wetlands and tropical rain.

“This certainly must be supported by the success of ULM alumni as regional heads, including in the DPR and DPD RI institutions. Because in South Kalimantan, ULM alumni are widely spread, even in neighboring provinces such as Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. So, alumni can be recruited to become candidates for regional and even national leaders as an honor for this oldest university in Kalimantan,” said Setia Budhi.