Four Malikussaleh University lecturers were invited by the Consulate General of the US Embassy in Medan to commemorate the 243th Independence Day of the United States while at the same time commemorating 70 years of diplomatic relations with Indonesia.
The 243th US Independence Day falls on the 4th of July 2019. However, the US Consul General in Medan held the commemoration as well as 70 years of diplomatic relations with Indonesia faster, namely on June 20, 2019 in Medan.
The four lecturers were Prof. A Hadi Arifin, Dr. Iskandar Zulkarnain, Dr. H Mohd Heikal, and Ayi Jufridar. The invitees were alumni from the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States at different times.
Iskandar Zulkarnain was an IVLP participant in 2002 or three months after 9/11. At that time, he admitted visiting several universities in the United States by dialogue with leaders of Islamic organizations in the United States, a number of senators, and with a number of political analysts.
"The program that I followed at that time was unique because 75 percent of the objects I visited were myself. I explained life about the life of Muslim communities in Indonesia and discussed the Aceh conflict which was currently in a dialogue approach," says Iskandar Zulkarnain on Wednesday June 19, 2019.
Ayi Jufridar received an IVLP invitation in 2012 and visited around six states. In addition to visiting several universities such as Brigham Young University in Utah and California University, also discussed with LA Times reporters who at that time received the Pulitzer award, a prestigious award in the world of journalism.
Lecturer at the Unimal Faculty of Economics and Business, Mohd Heikal, became an IVLP participant in 2013 along with a number of other figures in Indonesia, including Dahnil A Simanjuntak, who is now the spokesperson for the candidates for President / Vice President, Prabowo-Sandi. Heikal claimed that he had provided conformation of his presence in the commemoration of US independence to the US Consul General in Medan, Sumatera Utara. []
Empat Dosen Unimal Diundang Hadiri HUT Kemerdekaan AS ke-243
Empat dosen Universitas Malikussaleh mendapat undangan Konsulat Jenderal Kedutaan AS di Medan untuk memperingati hari kemerdekaan Amerika Serikat ke-243 sekaligus memeringati 70 tahun hubungan diplomatik dengan Indonesia.
Hari kemerdekaan AS ke-243 tersebut jatuh pada 4 Juli 2019 mendatang. Namun, Konjen AS di Medan menggelar peringatan tersebut sekaligus 70 tahun hubungan diplomatik dengan Indonesia lebih cepat, yakni pada 20 Juni 2019 di Medan.
Keempat dosen tersebut adalah Prof A Hadi Arifin, Dr Iskandar Zulkarnain, Dr H Mohd Heikal, dan Ayi Jufridar. Para undangan adalah alumni dari International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) di Amerika Serikat dalam waktu berbeda.
Iskandar Zulkarnain menjadi peserta IVLP pada 2002 atau tiga bulan setelah kejadian 9/11. Saat itu, ia mengaku mengunjungi beberapa perguruan tinggi terkemuka di Amerika Serikat dan berdialog dengan pemimpin organisasi Islam di AS, sejumlah senator, serta dengan sejumlah analis politik.
“Program yang saya ikuti waktu itu terbilang unik karena 75 persen objek kunjungan saya tentukan sendiri. Saya menjelaskan kehidupan tentang kehidupan masyarakat muslim di Indonesia serta berdiskusi tentang konflik Aceh yang saat itu sedang dalam pendekatan dialog,” jelas Iskandar Zulkarnain, Rabu (19/6/2019).
Sedangkan Ayi Jufridar mendapat undangan IVLP pada 2012 dan mengunjungi sekitar enam negara bagian. Selain mengunjungi beberapa universitas seperti Brigham Young University (berdiri sejak 1875) di Utah dan California University, juga berdiskusi dengan wartawan LA Times yang waktu itu menerima penghargaan Pulitzer, sebuah penghargaan bergengsi di dunia jurnalistik.
Dosen Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Unimal, Mohd Heikal, menjadi peserta IVLP pada 2013 bersama sejumlah tokoh lain di Indoensia, termasuk Dahnil A Simanjuntak, yang kini menjadi juru bicara pasangan calon Presiden/Wakil Presiden, Prabowo-Sandi. Heikal mengaku sudah memberikan konformasi kehadirannya dalam peringatan kemerdekaan AS kepada pihak Konjen AS di Medan, Sumatera Utara.[]