Jakarta – Not many people know that the president-elect for 2024-2029, Prabowo Subianto, played a role in the establishment of SMA Taruna Nusantara, which is currently one of the leading high schools in the country.
Dirgayuza Setiawan, the son of the late Dr. dr. Boyke Setiawan, who was a close associate of Prabowo during his lifetime, revealed the proposal for the establishment of SMA Taruna Nusantara created by Prabowo and Boyke in 1988, which is still kept in his late father’s wardrobe. The proposal was submitted by Prabowo to the Minister of Defense and the president at that time.
“Since SMA Taruna Nusantara is currently a trending topic, I want to share an interesting story. Last February, Mr. Prabowo suddenly asked me to find the proposal he submitted to the President and Minister of Defense to establish SMA TN. Your father kept it,” Dirgayuza wrote in an Instagram story post on the @dirgayuza account on Tuesday (9/10).
“After searching through my father’s wardrobe, I finally found the document that he was looking for,” Dirgayuza continued.
In another post, Dirgayuza also shared several photos of the contents of the proposal, including the initial sketches of SMA Taruna Nusantara, table of contents, preface, and the timeline for the construction of SMA TN from 1988-1990.
In the preface of the proposal, Prabowo and his team wrote that the establishment of SMA Taruna Nusantara was driven by a sense of duty and a calling to contribute to nation building and uphold the independence of Indonesia.
“The idea of writing this proposal arose from a deep sense of duty to participate in nation building through development. As our nation’s independence grows older, the challenges we face become increasingly difficult and demanding,” as stated in the preface of the proposal.
One of the steps to build the nation is through education, particularly focusing on the mastery of science and technology. The proposal highlighted that Indonesia has abundant resources and talented individuals, and it would be a waste not to provide them with suitable education to nurture their talents and abilities.
The construction of SMA Taruna Nusantara was expected to provide adequate educational facilities. The goal was to harness and develop the diverse talents of the nation’s youth optimally, ultimately for the benefit of Indonesia’s future development.
“In an era of rapid advancement in global science and technology, as a free nation, we must not fall behind in the pursuit of global scientific and technological achievements. With this determination in mind, the proposal for the establishment of the Science Secondary School is formulated,” Prabowo and his team wrote in the preface of the proposal.
Dirgayuza also revealed in the same post that the initials “PS” and “BS” found in the proposal stood for Prabowo Subianto (PS) and Boyke Setiawan (BS).
Dirgayuza is known for editing several books by Prabowo. Meanwhile, his father was a retired military officer who served as the rector of UKRI, an educational institution he founded in 2017. Before that, Boyke was entrusted by Prabowo to manage one of his businesses in the sports recreation sector, the Polo Club. (RR)
