Sofyan was born into a big family with 10 siblings. His father was just a tailor and they lived in a simple house with a straight wall. Seeing the struggles of his parents, little Sofyan had noble goals; provide comfort to their parents.
His dream to become a doctor appears that his father is sick and the doctor does not want to come to the house because they are a poor family. At that time, it was not easy to become a doctor and it was evident that he was not accepted at the University of North Sumatra despite having the highest grades. Sofyan also failed at Andalas University which made him choose Methodist University. But his studies did not go well because in the second year, his father passed away.
The loss of his father made Sofyan Tan have to fight hard to pay for college. He earns money by teaching in high school and being a teaching assistant.
“I also teach prospective students to pass at USU, even though I myself failed to enter USU. One day, I only sleep for 4 hours,” continued Sofyan in a discussion led by Ayi Jufridar, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Malikussaleh University.
Although he never received a scholarship, Sofyan Tan actually played a role in designing the KIP-Kuliah scholarship which was originally planned to be only given to students at A accredited universities. He directly suggested to Minister Nadiem Makarim to provide scholarships in stages for strategic purposes and to encourage the progress of each university.
In achieving success in life, Sofyan Tan has the JITU FK technique that inspires students. JITU FK is an acronym for Honest, Initiative, Responsibility, Universal, Focused, and Consistent. Sofyan Tan embraced these six steps in various fields, starting from establishing the Sultan Iskandar Muda Education Foundation which has produced thousands of scholars from underprivileged families, to the success of winning more than 158,000 votes to go to Senayan.
"If I only relied on citizens of Chinese descent, I would not get a seat in the DPR-RI. But because of universal thinking, voters from various ethnicities voted for me,” he said.
He gave an example that all national leaders are universal figures and respect diversity, from Sukarno to President Jokowi.
Natalis Paragaye, a student of FKIP Malikussaleh University from Wamewa, Papua, hopes that Sofyan Tan's move will fulfill his wish to produce a thousand doctors and a thousand teachers in Wamena.
According to Sofyan, Indonesia lacks more than one million teachers and most of the younger generation become teachers because they have failed in other professions. "That's why I am amazed that there are smart students who become teachers. That's an idealistic choice,” said Sofyan who visited the Malikussaleh University campus with Adnan NS, a senior journalist in Aceh who was once a member of the DPD.
The Chancellor of Malikussaleh University, Prof. Dr. Herman Fithra Asean Eng, admitted that Sofyan Tan helped the campus a lot through political channels.
"In the future, we still expect Pak Sofyan's assistance for the construction of a teaching hospital on the Reuleut Campus," said Herman. [Ayi Jufridar]
Jurus JITU FK Sofyan Tan Melawan Kemiskinan
Sofyan lahir dari keluarga besar dengan 10 bersaudara. Bapaknya hanya seorang tukang jahit dan mereka tinggal di sebuah rumah sederhana berdinding tepas. Melihat perjuangan orang tuanya, Sofyan kecil memiliki cita-cita mulia; memberikan rasa nyaman untuk orang tuanya.
Cita-citanya menjadi dokter muncul bapaknya sakit dan dokter tidak mau datang ke rumah karena mereka keluarga miskin. Di masa itu, tidak mudah menjadi dokter dan itu terbukti dia tidak diterima di Universitas Sumatera Utara meski memiliki nilai tertinggi. Sofyan juga gagal di Universitas Andalas yang membuatnya memilih Universitas Methodist. Tapi kuliahnya tidak berjalan lancar karena tahun kedua, bapaknya meninggal dunia.
Kehilangan bapak membuat Sofyan Tan harus berjuang keras untuk membiayai kuliah. Ia mencari uang dengan mengajar di SMA dan menjadi asisten dosen.
“Saya juga mengajar calon mahasiswa agar lolos di USU, padahal saya sendiri gagal masuk USU. Satu hari, saya hanya tidur selama 4 jam,” lanjut Sofyan dalam diskusi yang dipandu Ayi Jufridar, dosen Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis Universitas Malikussaleh.
Meski tidak pernah mendapatkan beasiswa, Sofyan Tan justru berperan dalam mendesain beasiswa KIP-Kuliah yang semula direncanakan hanya diberikan kepada mahasiswa di universitas yang terakreditasi A. Dia menyarankan langsung kepada Menteri Nadiem Makarim agar memberikan beasiswa secara berjenjang untuk tujuan strategis dan mendorong kemajuan setiap universitas.
Dalam meraih kesuksesan hidup, Sofyan Tan memiliki jurus JITU FK yang menginspirasi mahasiswa. JITU FK adalah akronim dari Jujur, Inisiatif, Tanggung jawab, Universal, Fokus, dan Konsisten. Enam jurus itulah yang dianut Sofyan Tan dalam berbagai bidang, mulai dari mendirikan Yayasan Pendidikan Sultan Iskandar Muda yang sudah melahirkan ribuan sarjana dari keluarga kurang mampu, sampai berhasil meraup 158 ribu suara lebih untuk menuju Senayan.
“Kalau saya hanya mengandalkan warga keturunan Tionghoa, saya tidak akan mendapatkan kursi DPR-RI. Tapi karena berpikir universal, pemilih dari berbagai etnis memberikan suara kepada saya,” ungkapnya.
Dia menyontohkan, semua pemimpin bangsa adalah tokoh universal dan menghargai keberagaman, mulai dari Sukarno sampai Presiden Jokowi.
Natalis Paragaye, mahasiswa FKIP Universitas Malikussaleh dari Wamewa, Papua, mengharapkan jurus Sofyan Tan bisa mewujudkan harapannya untuk melahirkan seribu dokter dan seribu guru di Wamena.
Menurut Sofyan, Indonesia kekurangan satu juta lebih guru dan sebagian besar generasi muda menjadi guru karena gagal di profesi lain. “Makanya saya kagum kalau ada mahasiswa pintar yang menjadi guru. Itu pilihan idealis,” kata Sofyan yang mengunjungi kampus Universitas Malikussaleh bersama Adnan NS, wartawan senior di Aceh yang pernah menjadi anggota DPD.
Rektor Universitas Malikussaleh, Prof Dr Herman Fithra Asean Eng, mengakui Sofyan Tan banyak membantu kampus tersebut melalui jalur politik.
“Ke depan, kami masih mengharapkan bantuan Pak Sofyan untuk pembangunan rumah sakit pendidikan di Kampus Reuleut,” ujar Herman. [Ayi Jufridar]
