Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Major state-owned firms in Indonesia are sending their top executives to an Islamic training centre where they are taught to be better professionals – through lessons in ethics and Quranic studies.
During a three-day programme at the Daarut Tauhiid Islamic boarding schools in Bandung, West Java, they are taught a brand of management developed by Muslim cleric Abdullah A. Gymnastiar.
Mr Gymnastiar, who mixes modern principles of business organisation and the teachings of Islam, calls his method Management by Conscience. Its focus is the development of emotional and spiritual strength to boost the professional life.
Modern principles alone cannot cultivate the sort of wholesome professionals needed in the business world, especially in the notoriously corrupt state firms, he holds. "The keys to success are honesty, which will gain people's trust, professionalism and innovativeness," he told a group of journalists here.
He said his methods were based on existing Islamic teachings but with a modern twist. "It just illuminates the Islamic teachings in an actual, innovative and creative teaching that is timely," he said. "A system with a good management, no matter how small its potential, will be blessed with optimal results." Singapore, for example, had limited natural resources but had become "much more prosperous than Indonesia because we manage poorly", he said.
Participants attend lectures and take part in discussions and outdoor activities, such as games, where they put what they have learnt into practice. About 40 state-owned, and a few private companies, send staff for the training.
They include telecommunication firm PT Telkom, the State Electricity Company, the State Train Company, toll road operator PT Jasa Marga and flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia. Participants also come from government offices such as the Central Bank, the Fiance Ministry, the Directorate General's Office of Taxation and the provincial administration office of West Java. The programme costs about 2.5 million rupiah (S$470) per person for a session for 30 people that covers accommodation, food, literature and uniforms.
Mr Jaka Suparna, an employee of the State Railway Company, said he felt he had changed since he took the training in January. "I am more devout now, and I feel passionate about work," he said.
Mr Gymnastiar seems to have succeeded using his principles. He has radio and TV talk shows and is a popular preacher during Ramadan.