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West Nusa Tenggara student wins global Quran reading contest
The governor was jubilant because the 20-year-old from Bima, a city located on Sumbawa Island, beat participants from 68 countries in the contest.
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Golden letters: An Al Quran written in gold ink believed to date back to the 13th century is displayed in the Indonesian Islamic Art Museum in Lamongan, East Java. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)
W
est Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Zulkieflimansyah has awarded Syamsuri Firdaus money and paid for a minor haj trip for winning the 7th International Al Quran Recitation Competition held in Istanbul.
The governor was jubilant because the 20-year-old from Bima, a city located on Sumbawa Island, beat participants from 68 countries in the contest.
“We are very proud and congratulate him for the success,” Zul, as the governor is usually called, said in a press statement.
On his Ramadan trip in Sumbawa, the governor presented the gifts to Syamsuri and his parents.
The prize also comes in Rp 25 million (US$1,740) in savings for Syamsuri.
Syamsuri is a student of the University of Indonesia’s Arabic literature department in Depok, West Java. He is a recipient of the government’s Bidik Misi program, a scholarship for students from families on low incomes.
Syamsuri won a similar competition for children in Singapore in 2013.
The central government also heard the news and invited him to meet President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday.
