The Setting of Pondok Madani

46 At the end of the story, Atang says that Said and Dulmajid set up an Islamic school in with spirit such as in Pondok Madani in Surabaya fit their ideals under the tower with friends, Sahibul Menara. Dulmajid is described as a child who comes from an ordinary family. Hes a diligent, clever lobbying and idolizes Icuk Sugiarto. Dulmajid serves as an editor of the Syams magazine in Pondok Madani. Dulmajid is a good child also, that he wants the welfare of his family and build an Islamic school in the village. At the end of the story, Dulmajid successfully realizes his goal of building an Islamic boarding school with Said in Surabaya.

4.7 The Setting of Pondok Madani

Pondok Madani is located in a cloistered area in Ponorogo, East Java. The capacious of Pondok Madani is about a dozen acres consisting of a mosque, multipurpose hall, classrooms, student barracks, cooperative, library, kitchens, night guard post. Pondok Madani is bordered by shady trees and towering coconut trees as a boundary between Pondok Madani and the outside world. Pondok Madani is a self- contained cottage, which is where the funds come from Pondok Madani itself. Pondok Madani also has a wide field for self-sufficient. “Selain itu mesin ekonomi PM juga lumayan besar. Beras tidak pernah beli, karena berhektar-hektar sawah milik PM mengirim padi yang kemudian digiling di huller sendiri. Semuanya self sufficient. Mandiri.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 360 Pondok Madani is a junior high school and senior high school degree with a 6-year period. But if there are incoming after finishing junior high or high school and Universitas Sumatera Utara 47 graduated from S1, they do not graduate in 3 years instead of 4 years for preparation class. “Karena aku masuk setelah tamat SLTP, PM mewajibkan tambahan 1 tahun untuk kelas persiapan, sehingga untuk lulus, aku perlu 4 tahun ” PM adalah sekolah setingkat SMP dan SMA dengan masa sekolah 6 tahun. Tapi kalau ada yang masuk setamat SMP, SMA, atau bahkan lulu S1, mereka tidak otomatis akan lulus dalam 3 tahun. Sebaliknya mereka lulus 4 tahun, karena ada satu tahun untuk adaptasi bahasa dan pelajaran lain. Fuadi, A. 2009: 311 Education system that is used in Pondok Madani is 24 hours. “Pondok Madani memiliki sistem pendidikan 24 jam. Tujuan pendidikannya untuk menghasilkan manusia mandiri yang tangguh. Kiai kami bilang, agar menjadi rahmat bagi dunia dengan bekal ilmu umum dan ilmu agama. Saat ini ada tiga ribu murid yang tinggal di delapan asrama” Fuadi, A. 2009: 31 It means that all is done by students during the day and nights are to learn, that is not only learning in the classroom as the school generally but also any behavior that is done by the students are learning, learning to do something good for life. Pondok Madani assumes that religious knowledge is like oxygen. It means that religion is an important part of every human life as well as humans need oxygen to breathe and live. “…Menurut Kiai kami, pendidikan PM tidak membedakan agama dan non agama. Semuanya satu dan semuanya berhubungan. Agama langsung dipraktekkan dalam kegiatan sehari-hari. Di Madani, agama adalah oksigen, dia ada di mana-mana,” jelas Burhan lancar.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 35. Pondok Madani also has a strict test system like State Public School. Each student who will learn in Pondok Madani must take the test. This is to show that the Pondok Universitas Sumatera Utara 48 Madani is not just that only accept students who do not graduate in State Public Schools or simply to improve naughty childrens mental, but rather to show that Pondok Madani is having great student and can be successful in the future. “O iya, saya ucapkan selamat ujian kepada para calon murid. Karena untuk bisa menikmati semua kegiatan ini, tentu saja anak-anak bapak dan ibu harus lulus tes masuk yang ketat. Semoga sukses, assalamualaikum…,” katanya lalu melambaikan tangan kepada kami.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 36 It is to ensure that Pondok Madani is great and has a big name in Java. It is proved that every year are about two thousand students register and take the exam, but only four hundred students who will be accepted. This proves that Pondok Madani is a great Islamic boarding school. The examination in Pondok Madani is done for 15 days. When the examination time comes, Pondok Madani welcomes it very excited and such a grand festival. The examination is divided into two parts namely memorizing exam and written exam. “Rasanya tidak ada yang melebihi cara PM mengistimewakan waktu ujiannya. Ujian marathon sepanjang 15 hari disambut bagai pesta akbar, riuh dan semarak. You can feel the exam in the air. Itulah moment of truth seorang pencari ilmu untuk membuktikan bahwa jerih payah belajar selama ini mendatangkan hasil setimpal, yaitu meresapnya ilmu tadi sampai ke sumsumnya.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 189. Once the test is completed, they are given holidays for two weeks. At the end of the year, Pondok Madani gives holidays for one month to the students during the fasting month and Idul Fitri. Besides regular exams, Pondok Madani also held a graduation exam which is even tougher. The exam is done for a month full. The students call it as the exam on the exam test. “Akhirnya hari pertama imtihan nilai itu datang juga. Warga PM Universitas Sumatera Utara 49 menyebutnya “ujian di atas ujian” Fuadi, A. 2009: 386. Exam on the exam test indicates that the test at this time is harder than usual because of exams to determine their graduation. They are gathered in the hall and divided into groups to learn together. The teachers guide and help them to learn if there are difficulties in learning. Pondok Madani did not give a diploma to each graduate disciple. Pondok Madani assumes that a graduate disciple definitely has sufficient knowledge to be able to live and thrive in the community. The diploma from Pondok Madani is not valid to several colleges but it is accepted in Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt. “Dari awal PM sudah menyatakan tidak memberikan ijazah untuk masuk sekolah umum. Ijazah PM bahkan tidak diakui di beberapa perguruan tinggi Islam. Walau, ijazah PM malah diakui di Mesir, Arab Saudi, Pakistan dan beberapa Negara lainnya. Fuadi, A. 2009: 370 In Pondok Madani, for all new students are only allowed to use Indonesian for 4 months only. The rest of them have to use the existing two official languages namely Arabic and English as lingua franca for 24 hours. Every morning they are required to learn both official languages with the help of their seniors. “Bagai sebuah konspirasi besar untuk mencuci otak, metode total immersion bahasa ini cocok dengan lingkungan yang sangat mendukung. Apa yang kami dengar, kami lihat, kami tulis dan kami rasakan, semua dalam bahasa resmi, Arab dan Inggris.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 134 In Pondok Madani is not only in-depth religious knowledge but also other subjects. It is supported by many extracurricular lessons provide in Pondok Madani such as sports, arts, and others. Extracurricular also aimed to build strong mental of students. Thats why when students who want to go to Pondok Madani, at the first Universitas Sumatera Utara 50 time they are shown places to perform Extracurricular activities rather than showing the places where students gain knowledge of religion that should be studied in a Islamic boarding school in general. At the end before graduation, the students are invited to tour the East Java to see the industries and existing businesses. It aims to educate students after they graduate from Pondok Madani are able to open eyes to entrepreneurship as a destination in the future, such as an advice spoken by Kiai Rais. “Jangan puas menjadi pegawai, tapi jadilah orang yang punya pegawai.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 395. Pondok Madani is an independent Islamic boarding school because has a great economic system. Pondok Madani also provides scholarships for poor students. So, none of student excluded because can not pay the school fees. Pondok Madani provides scholarships that are not realized by the students. The important thing that there is an intention to learn. “PM selama ini tidak pernah mengeluarkan murid hanya karena tidak bayar uang sekolah. Memang, walau PM tidak meng-gembar-gemborkan ada beasiswa, sesungguhnya sekolah kami banyak memberikan beasiswa tanpa kami sadari. Begitu seorang murid diterima, maka selama dia mau, dia bisa terus belajar di sini. Bahkan dengan gratis. Tidak kuat bayar uang sekolah dan uang makan? Tidak akan pernah disuruh keluar atau berhenti. Yang penting sekolah terus, duit soal belakang.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 359 Pondok Madani’s regulations are stringent. Every student in violation punishable in accordance with the offense committed. From the smallest punishment be Jasus or called as a spy, get bald head for severe punishment to the heaviest penalties that excluded from Pondok Madani. In Pondok Madani, punishment is not favoritism. “Selain itu, ingat juga bahwa aturan di sini punya konsekuensi hukum yang berlaku tanpa pandang bulu. Kalau tidak bisa mengikuti aturan, Universitas Sumatera Utara 51 mungkin kalian tidak cocok di sini. Malam ini akan dibacakan qanun, aturan komando. Simak baik-baik, tidak ada yang tertulis, karena itu harus kalian tulis dalam ingatan. Setelah mendengar qanun setiap orang tidak punya alasan tidak tahu bahwa ini aturan.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 51 Punishment in Pondok Madani is rather than making students deterrent but also other parts of the education. The students who are given a punishment required to learn to be more sincere and careful in behavior. Therefore, Pondok Madani makes the system spies to get information violations committed by the students. This method combines the method of spies and discipline of Islamic boarding school. The goal is to enforce law and disciplines, this method really works. “Proses ini terus berlangsung sepanjang waktu, 24 jam, 365 hari dalam setahun, sehingga lama kelamaan pelanggaran menurun drastis.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 78. In addition to existing regulations, Pondok Madani also has another rule that is no less intense, namely regulation in terms of information. Pondok Madani forbids the students to see TV because of the quality of broadcast on television is considered incompatible with the education system in Pondok Madani and also restrictions on the flow of information coming into Pondok Madani that is by censoring the flow of news in the newspaper. “Salah satu bagian penting dari qanun adalah pengaturan arus informasi yang sampai kepada kami para murid. Agar semua informasi mengandung pendidikan, semua saluran hamil dikont rol dan disensor. Di PM, kami hanya bisa membaca 3 koran nasional yang telah disensor oleh bagian keamanan dan pengajaran. Potongan kertas putih ditempel khusus di bagian tulisan yang disensor.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 171 One of the rules proof that is not favoritism in Pondok Madani is when Said the Chief Security Center violated permission. At the time, Said, Atang and Alif looking for dry ice in Ponorogo for their Class Six event Show. The items that they are Universitas Sumatera Utara 52 looking for does not exist in Ponorogo, and Said provides an input for direct to Surabaya without asking permission anymore to Care Office. After the event is over and Alif accidentally tells in front of Ustad torik, ultimately Said the Chief Security Center, which should keep the security and regulatory compliance should be punished to get the bald head. “Mungkin mereka tidak habis mengerti bagaimana mungkin seorang penjaga kedisiplinan seperti Said bisa kena tulah botak. Said semakin tertunduk.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 354 The other side of Pondok Madani is the teachers who sincerely devoted to the Pondok Madani. The teachers are not paid properly the teachers in schools in general. They are given adequate living facilities in Pondok Madani. The teachers teach with sincerity without any salary and they think that teaching is the worship due to Gods command. “Jiwa keikhlasan dipertontonkan setiap hari di PM. Guru-guru kami yang tercinta dan hebat-hebat sama sekali tidak menerima gaji untuk mengajar. Mereka semua tinggal di dalam PM dan diberi fasilitas hidup yang cukup, tapi tidak ada gaji. Dengan tidak adanya ekspektasi gaji dari semenjak awal, niat mereka menjadi khalis. Mengajar hanya karena ibadah, karena perintah Tuhan. Titik.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 297 It is very noble and very rare at the present time and in the period which corruption is rampant, including in the field of education. That it is very taboo to talk about in the present. Other side of the Pondok Madani is that Pondok Madani is one of the famous Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. This is proved from the number of visitors from outside and inside the country who come to the Pondok Madani every year. Ranging from the Ambassador to the families of the students. Until they assume that Pondok Madani is a safari park. Because of this unique educational method, Pondok Universitas Sumatera Utara 53 Madani often used as a tourist destination. Especially when the 70 th anniversary of Pondok Madani. They made the events held during the full of month and is attended by the great people in this country from the Commander in Chief to the President of Republic of Indonesia. “Menurut Ustad Salman, PM akan mengadakan syukuran akbar dengan menggelar berbagai acara mulai dari seminar nasional sampai bazaar, mengundang tokoh nasional mulai dari presiden, cendekia sampai konglomerat, dan mengadakan pertandingan mulai dari sepakbola antar pondok sampai antar asrama. Semua kegiatan ini dikemas dengan judul “Milad 70 tahun PM”. Semua acara ini berlangsung selama lebih dari satu bulan.” Fuadi, A. 2009: 326 In this novel tells that Pondok Madani is an independent boarding school because its school is able to fulfill its own needs. Pondok Madani is one of the famous boarding schools in Java and in Indonesia. Its students come from around the country and at the time of held the event, guests also come from the officer, General, to President. The system of education Pondok Madani consists of formal education, informal and extracurricular for 24 hours. Regulations made also very strict and not only as a punishment but rather as an education to educate students.

4.8 Relationship between Literature and Society in the Novel “Negeri 5