RIP: Hadi Soesastro (3)

I believe it was in 2002, in a discussion at the CSIS on, of all topics, Hayek, that I came to know Pak Hadi personally and I am grateful to have that opportunity for many reasons.

As a scholar and intellectual, no doubt he was among very few Indonesians that the world highly regards. The title of one of Asia's best minds is also of no exaggeration. In some international meetings and conferences I happened to join in, everybody seems to know Hadi Soesastro and want to talk to him.

He was also a very fine economist with a strong awareness for political constraints and context that made him an effective consensus maker. In particular, Pak Hadi was very well versed in trade and technology issues -- two hot topics in contemporary Indonesian economy; but he seemed to avoid (media) controversy and quietly worked in an unassuming way in trying to materialize the benefit of trade and technological progress to the country.

His passion to international cooperation also showed that he believed that the country can only move forward by getting along with the world's community -- a perspective that, alas, many of the country's leading figures tend to underestimate and dismiss, probably due to some inferiority complex. But he was no self-willed and this is why you might find him talking to the other discontented parties, sincerely listening to their concerns -- no matter how absurd they appeared to me.

Above all, Pak Hadi was a very good mentor and teacher. From friends at the CSIS, you would hear that Pak Hadi had put lots of confidence to his younger colleagues to present paper or attend prestigious meetings here or abroad. But his attention was not limited to his home-base. I am not working for the CSIS, but that was what he had done to me, too.

Pak Hadi sent me to one of the earliest conferences where I present paper -- the ASEAN Economist Forum. Probably little that Pak Hadi knew, I was nervous like hell. He also asked me to join the working group for manufacturing industry policy of the Indonesian Economist Association (ISEI). I still remember how I felt in awe sharing the same table with Thee Kian Wie and the likes prominent economists discussing (more accurately, listening to them talking about) what happened to our manufacturing industry.

For that, I sincerely thank Pak Hadi in believing in me as then a young economist to gain academic and policy-related experience. Those exposures mean a lot to me, Pak.

The last time I saw Pak Hadi was in the PECC meeting in DC in which he also asked me to join. Among other things, we talked about food. Pak Hadi knew good food and he suggested me to visit Central where the food is good and --this is important for student like me-- the price is affordable.

He was always modest. I was surprised to learn that Pak Hadi, after the meeting, continued his trip to New York City by taking Chinatown bus with his son late at night. The reason: for him it's comfortable enough and inexpensive. I am speechless. With his stature, taking Acela would not be too much, but his modesty was really admirable.

Last thing, I regret that I would not be able to fulfill my promise and take him to Ray's Hell Burger next time he visited DC, but I guess, Pak Hadi, you will always get the better burger up there. And the ice cream too.

So long, Pak Hadi. May you rest in peace.

RIP: Hadi Soesastro (2)

As a rejoinder to AP's obit, please allow me to copy-paste my twits from Twitter this morning.

1. 1. I took his class, "Technological Progress and Economic Development".
   2. He tought us how you could push the production possibility frontier by advancement in technology
   3. Yet you should not pursue technology without considering the entire economic development stage
   4. He was a great teacher. Soft spoken, fatherly. At times we held the class in CSIS Tn Abang. He made us feel at home
   5. With Mari Pangestu and others he brought CSIS up to international calibre. He was respected as one of the leading economists in Asia
   6. Hal Hill (ANU) dubbed him as 1 of 4 economists saving Indonesia in the aftermath of 97/98 crisis. Others: M Sadli, Thee K Wie, Boediono
   7. Seeing him with his mastery of the topic, we were all proud. Of him, and of the country.
   8. Last September we went to Tokyo. He briefed the audience on the current geopolitical landscape of Asia and the rising Indonesia's role
   9. In that Tokyo event he looked so healthy, after having the cancer for quite some time
   10. Last March he attended a China-Indonesia event in Beijing. To my regret, I couldn't join (was in Incheon). His condition dropped again
   11. After Beijing conference his condition continuously worsened. He had to cancel many trips and schedules. Yet, he's a man of commitment
   12. He texted me Apr14 "Maaf Sdr Aco, saya krng sehat, tdk bisa hadir dlm Sadli Lecture bsk". I always protested the prefix "Sdr" :)
   13. He also emailed us "Maaf, sy tdk bs selesaikan chapter saya untuk buku Pak Emil". We understand, Pak.
   14. Then came the coma. As I visited, he was all tied up to machines and cables. Brain hemorrhage. My heart ached, eyes teary.
   15. April29 last week was his 65th birthday. Now he's gone. Selamat jalan, Pak Hadi
   
   

RIP: Hadi Soesastro

This morning I was shock when my wife Juli found out in Facebook that Hadi Soesastro passed away. We've been anticipating this when we heard pak Hadi was admitted to Pondok Indah hospital in a deep comma following a brain hemorrhage. But still, it was a sad sad news.

My last communication with him was in April 15th. I asked him if he could write an introduction for my 'book.' He replied shortly, "Please send me your draft. I'll see what I can write." Two days later he was admitted to Medistra Hospital because his Hb dropped. He left Medistra a few days later, and he was OK. But then in April 24th I heard he fell into a comma and rushed to Pondok Indah. He stayed unconscious until his last day.

Pak Hadi has been battling against his prostate cancer for the last few years. He's been back and forth to Melbourne for his treatment. In an email he sent in December last year, he mentioned that the cancer has been expanded to his bone. A radical approach is needed to remove the cells. I sensed an admission that he's done almost everything, and whatever comes next would be beyond what human can do. But at the same time, it was a very positive and inspiring email. Yes, anybody who knows him would say that Hadi Soesastro is one of the most positive thinking person.

Everybody can tell how a great economist and researcher pak Hadi is. But to me and all CSIS current and former staffs, and I believe to many other people outside CSIS, our interaction with pak Hadi is much more than a professional one. He's been a big brother or father (grandfater for some) figure for many of us. He was a senior, a mentor. But he preferred to be considered as friend or colleague. In 2001, in a seminar at CSIS, I addressed pak Hadi as 'my boss' to Julia Suryakusuma. Pak Hadi corrected me. "Colleague," he said.

You can see him during a session break in may CSIS seminars, even the international ones, wandering around with a bell, urging people to start the session. Yes, him, the Executive Director. He is also a warm figure in the office, and outside. As an Executive Director, he regularly come upstairs to meet us, his junior staffs. Sometimes with an information about a scholarships, a seminar, or even just to say hi, chat with us, and even... gossiping. In many occasions during my study abroad, he'd invite us to visit his place. As usual, he's always been a nice and entertaining host. His oxtail soup in Canberra (around 1999-2000), or his mushroom and salad in NYC (New Year's Eve 2006) are some example.

In autumn 2005 pak Hadi and bu Janti visited Harvard. Juli and I visited them in the hotel at breakfast -- we planned to take them around Boston. Then we learned the couple's habit of 'stealing' bread rolls from the hotel. "What for?" we asked. "To feed the birds in the park," they answered. So then we went to Boston Common and feed the birds with the bread they brought from the hotel. After that we invited them to spend a night in our small apartment. Pak Hadi agreed, in one condition: it didn't create any hassles for us.

I can go over a very long list on his accomplishment, on his warmth and greatness as a person, and so on. But still that won't be enough to describe him. In short, in many ways Hadi Soesastro is a person you'd want to be like.

One last thing. In 2006 when our daughter Rara just joined our family, he presented a Teddy Bear. We named him 'Teddy Hadi' or 'Hadi Bear' (now I wonder why it was not 'Teddy Soesastro'). Someday Rara will learn that it was a precious gift from a great person.

RIP: JD Salinger

I read Catcher in the Rye rather too late. Of all places, it was Fopp records store in Sidney Street, Cambridge, England, that I bought that small red book from. And for the rest of that night, I feverishly followed Holden Caulfield's life, ignoring even the charm of English pub in that alluring ancient college town.

Since then, cliche as it may sound, Catcher in the Rye set my standard and becomes the best book I've ever read. I even always had it on my desk back in Salemba, along with Che Guevara poster. I recall Aco, then my office roommate, in the midst of a deadline for a research report on rice liberalization, grudged as he had to try really hard not to reread that book upon seeing it between my messy piles of stuff.

I am never sure why I really like Holden Caulfield, but maybe somehow I can relate what he felt to be a young man in an uncertain world where (almost) everything seem very wrong. A rite of passage before you end up living as economist, barista, et cetera, and see some things not that wrong after all, and now you remember that time with smile or grin.

Today the man who introduced us to the life and angst of Holden Caulfield passed away. Salute and rest in peace, JD Salinger.

So Long, Gus Dur

Like many of my peers, I first learn about Gus Dur from his writings in Tempo and then from writings about him in the same magazine (where else?). It was in the mid 80s – I was in high school- that I realized that Gus Dur was not “just” a columnist but also a leader of the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, the NU. There were a number of articles in Tempo at that time that dwelled on NU’s decision to adopt Pancasila as the azas tunggal and to return to their 1926 khittah, and what those would mean for the coming election.

For someone like me, who spent most of my childhood in Jakarta, who had no deep roots in either NU or Muhammadiyah, and at that time was attending a catholic high school¹, it pained me a lot to have to learn about the word "khittah" just to get through an edition of Tempo. But I remember buried in the dull and tedious discussions about party politics and NU internal politics, was Gus Dur’s argument about Islam being compatible with pluralism.² Being in confined comfort of a school where religious and racial tensions were non-existent, I thought his argument was compelling if not relevant.

During my college years when, to my shock, I found college to be much more heterogenous than high school (duh!) Gus Dur’s views suddenly became more relevant to me. Dynamics between majority and minority as well as racial and ethnic differences became more apparent in college. I started to consciously seek what he and other “public intellectuals” had to say about the issue. When tensions between racial or religious groups became highly charged, I learned that Gus Dur often was the figure who helped resolve these tensions. During these years there were very high profile cases such as where he defended the right of Arswendo for free speech in the Monitor case, very much a lonely figure. But it was the little skirmishes, the low profile battles that he fought, that impressed me more. Our campus in Salemba was very close to LBH Jakarta where Gus Dur sometimes came to give a talk. I remember attending a talk he was giving there on the marriage rights of a couple who were Confucians. Their marriage had been presented before a court because of legal and administrative issue and Gus Dur was an expert witness of some sorts, in favor of the couple. I never knew who the couple were but during the talk Gus Dur was defending their case like they were his own relatives. There were many low profile events similar to that, and I tried to attend some that didn’t require much effort on my part. It helped a lot that Gus Dur had such an acute sense of humor, and one did not need to be a student activist steeped in rethorics to be able to digest and enjoy his talks. I was never an activist and never saw myself as one anyway, so I only read from the printed press the more vocal (and more political) views that he made as the chairman of Forum Demokrasi. Our Salemba campus was also close enough to STF Driyarkara where Gus Dur was often invited for discussions - and almost always came late. It was always worth skipping a few neoliberal (ha!) economic classes for those events.

Then 1998 happened. During the tumultuous years, I was away. Like many others, I was somewhat surprised by the turns of events that resulted in Gus Dur being elected the president. But I remember being very proud to have a man of such conviction becoming the leader of our nation.

As I read through his obituaries in recent days, while trying to recollect what I learned from the man, it strikes me how often people use the word “erratic” (=highly inconsistent), to describe his short presidency and even his personality. This is perhaps the biggest irony, since of all the public figures who were his contemporaries, no one is as consistent in sticking to his principles on humanity, pluralism and democracy as Gus Dur.

Thank you, Gus Dur, and so long.


¹ Like many of my peers in high school, I was interested in the 1987 election primarily because election campaigns were fun (Truck convoys! Free t-shirts! Free concerts!). Incidentally, most students in my school were PDI fans, at least outwardly. Gugun Gondrong was the only student coming to school donning a non-PDI attributes (he wore green PPP headband while riding his motorbike across the schoolyard, but that is another story).
² I’ll leave it for historians to debate how much of Gus Dur’s NU maneuvers were driven by political pragmatism, appeasement, or NU internal politics.
³ As a student studying economics in Salemba, I was perhaps already predisposed against IPTN and everything that had to do with it (funny how an undergraduate thinks). It was not surprising that when ForDem was formed partly as a reaction to the establishment of ICMI, my preference was clear.

RIP: Gus Dur

We were deeply saddened to hear KH Abdurrahman ‘Gus Dur’ Wahid has passed away.

Gus Dur became the fourth president of Indonesia in 1999. At that time, I was in Canberra, Aco in Champaign, Ujang in East Lansing, Sjamsu on the way to Washington, DC from Ithaca, and Rizal in Kukusan Beji, Depok. It was a funny process. There was yet to be a direct presidential election. The president was elected by the MPR which consists of 500 elected DPR members, and another 195 non-elected members.

Megawati’s PDIP was the winner of the election. That made her the strongest candidate to become the president. But there was a strong resentment against having a female president, mainly from the Islamic parties. Some last minute maneuvers inside the MPR, known as ‘Poros Tengah’ initiated by Amien Rais (then MPR Chairman) broke the deadlock by installing Gus Dur as the president and gave Megawati the VP chair.

Gus Dur was a great pluralist, humanist, pro-democratic, moderate Muslim leader. Unfortunately, he was not a good president. Worse, he was an erratic president. Of course, he had great agenda. Some of which he could achieve – like bringing down the discriminative barriers against ethnic Chinese, pushing forward pluralism ideas, eliminating SIUPP and removing 'culture' from the Ministry of Education and Culture. But his erratic style made it hard for almost everyone to understand what he was doing, let alone to execute his other agendas. Soon the supports for him waned.

His most famous catchphrase was “Gitu aja kok repot?” In some ways, this proved to be an optimal strategy to deal with criticisms and dirty politicking. The problem was he used this strategy too much, even for things that needed his serious attention. Our senior colleague Hadi Soesastro once told a story when he, Prof. Emil Salim and some other senior economists gave an economic briefing, Gus Dur literally fell asleep. After someone woke him up, he just said, “Right, you take care of the economy…”

His presidency reached the anticlimax in July 2001 when the same MPR which elected him less than two years earlier agreed to impeach him following the infamous ‘Buloggate’ and ‘Bruneigate’ scandals. The same MPR which rejected Megawati then elected her to be the fifth president.

Nevertheless, no one can disagree that he was a great person. One of the best Indonesians we’ve ever had. And we will surely miss him. So long, Gus… Have a nice rest, now you no longer have to be repot…

RIP: Rose Director Friedman

I was reading The Great Contraction, 1929-1933, by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz when Kate emailed and asked me to write a short obituary for Rose Director Friedman.

Rose was the half of the Friedmans, with whom Milton Friedman shared and voiced opinion on issues unrelated to price theory and monetary economics (Overtveldt, 2007). The two were the strong supporters for voucher system in education; voluntary army; profit under fair competition as firm's social responsibility; and negative income tax (or direct transfer for the poor). In short, individual freedom.

May she rest in peace.

Rendra and The Students

There is something between Rendra and the university students.

In my undergraduate days, I learnt development economics from Todaro's Economic Development and Rendra's Potret Pembangunan Dalam Puisi. Todaro's provided me with methodology and numbers in analyzing development; but it was from Rendra's that I learnt how poverty, unemployment, inequality, and corrupt institutions really mean to people's life.

And the power of hope. Sajak Joki Tobing Untuk Widuri, for example.

But I had to wait until one cold raining evening of another long day in 1998 in Depok to see before my eyes the most subversive poet that Indonesia has ever had read his poems.

He was still officially banned from the University, a state university as it is, because he was considered enemy of the state --so much for the power of poetry and the irony of dictatorship guarded by thousands of soldiers and terror. But somehow friends at KMUI were able to smuggle him in to stage before hundreds of students on one of Suharto last days.

There, Rendra read his own Sajak Kenalan Lamamu. It was astounding beyond words. Magical. And on those days, bloody relevant --as if it confirmed that what we did those days were indeed worth doing.

I thank Rendra for that. Hat off.