Al-Ansari: Ambassador and composer<\/p>\n
By Riyadi<\/p>\n
Kuwait Ambassador Ali Zakaria Al-Ansari is ending his term in
\nIndonesia soon. He agreed to an interview with The Jakarta Post
\nto discuss some of his impressions during his tenure, while
\nrevealing a bit of his personality.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When outgoing Kuwait Ambassador Ali Zakaria Al-
\nAnsari returns to his country, Indonesia will miss not simply a
\nseasoned and experienced ambassador, it is also losing a musical
\nmaster.<\/p>\n
Sadly few people here realize Al-Ansari's talent as a
\ncomposer. And the ambassador himself has not availed the
\nIndonesian public of the opportunity to listen to his works,
\nperhaps because his diplomatic duties came first.<\/p>\n
"You might be surprised to know that I'm a composer," Al-
\nAnsari told The Jakarta Post during the interview at his office
\non Jl. Denpasar Raya in Kuningan district.<\/p>\n
A surprise for sure, but the highly artistic design of his
\nroom quickly attested to the ambassador's musical traits.<\/p>\n
On this occasion, Al-Ansari indulged in talk about his love
\nfor music, as well as his diplomatic career and duties.<\/p>\n
Al-Ansari, 65 years old, has served as ambassador for his
\ncountry in a number of countries, ranging from Tunisia,
\nSwitzerland, the Soviet Union, Brazil and India.<\/p>\n
Nothing in his educational background and initial working
\ncareer pointed to a long service in the foreign office. He
\nthought that he was going to be a teacher, or perhaps a writer.<\/p>\n
After finishing his under-graduate study at Cairo University
\nin English literature, Al-Ansari worked for several years in the
\nKuwaiti Ministry of Education. During this period, he published
\nseveral short stories and poems in a variety of magazines.<\/p>\n
Then in 1961, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry recruited him, and
\nhe has never looked back since.<\/p>\n
"A diplomat only needs a good common sense. If you have common
\nsense you can gain a career as a diplomat," he said about how he
\nmanaged to fit into the diplomatic career.<\/p>\n
Music<\/p>\n
Al-Ansari said his interest in music began in his early
\nchildhood. He had an opportunity to take up and study the playing
\nof an Arabic instrument, called the 'ud. It is now his lifelong
\nserious pastime.<\/p>\n
While serving in Moscow, Al-Ansari found the opportunity to
\ntake courses in Western European harmony, orchestration and
\ncomposition, his main tutor being the Soviet composer Michaelov.<\/p>\n
The ambassador has already composed three symphonic works. The
\nfirst two were performed and recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when
\nhe was ambassador there. The last one, entitled Liberation, was
\nperformed and recorded by The Royal Academy of Music's Symphony
\nOrchestra in London earlier this year.<\/p>\n
"It was received warmly by the audience in the Academy Hall.
\nAfter the concert, I had to give many interviews, about 10, with
\nnewspapers and magazines about my symphony," said this father of
\nfour children.<\/p>\n
He particularly treasures Liberation because he wrote it
\nbefore, during and after the occupation of Kuwait by Iraq.<\/p>\n
Al-Ansari came to Indonesia immediately after the end of the
\nGulf War in 1991, and one of the first assignments, which also
\nturned out to be the most challenging during his three-year
\ntenure, was to convince Indonesians that Iraq's invasion of
\nKuwait was wrong.<\/p>\n
He said he tried hard to convince the press here as some
\npeople were confused by the Iraqi attempt to tie the invasion to
\nthe Palestinian problem , thus fanning a possible Christianity-
\nIslam conflict. "We tried hard to correct things, present the
\nbare facts and provide figures whenever it was deemed necessary,"
\nhe said, thankful for the support of the Indonesian government
\nduring his country's difficult time.<\/p>\n
He recalled that more than 1,000 Indonesian-trained workers
\nhelped in extinguishing the fires at more than 700 oil wells
\nwhich were set ablaze during the war.<\/p>\n
Relations<\/p>\n
After the war, relations between Indonesia and Kuwait have
\nsteadily been increasing. The Kuwait Fund for Development resumed
\nits activities that had been interrupted by the invasion.<\/p>\n
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Development has extended soft loans
\ntotaling $167 million, with long grace periods and low interest,
\nto Indonesia to finance highways and electricity power projects.<\/p>\n
"His Highness, the Emir of Kuwait, wrote off the interest on
\nthese loans that amounted to US$816,000 ... And I'm happy to
\nstate that Kuwaiti financial institutions are becoming more
\ninterested in investing their money here, and businessmen began
\nto know their way to Indonesia."<\/p>\n
Last month representatives of a leading financial institute,
\nthe Kuwait Financial House, visited Indonesia. And with the
\nencouragement of the authorities here, it has established a
\nbranch office in Jakarta to explore investment possibilities. The
\ninstitute is planning to establish an Islamic bank in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Al-Ansari said an agreement on the avoidance of double
\ntaxation has been signed. This is to pave the way for more
\ninvestment and more economic cooperation between the two
\ncountries since the investment is guaranteed and the atmosphere
\nof confidence is available.<\/p>\n
He suggested that Indonesian businessmen be more aggressive in
\npromoting their products in Kuwait and other countries in the
\nGulf region to increase the amount of Indonesian non-oil exports.<\/p>\n
"Indonesian businessmen should be more aggressive. They should
\ngo to the area, like the Japanese and the Taiwanese who go there
\nand collect information. So, they would know what to export."<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, information about Indonesia's potential is not
\nalways available in Kuwait, and Indonesian businessmen do not
\nknow about Kuwait's potential either.<\/p>\n
"You have to promote your products, your facilities and your
\nother potentials. If you are aggressive, you will see more money
\nwill coming here, not only from Kuwait but also from other Arab
\ncountries," he said.<\/p>\n
He invited Indonesian companies to participate in building
\nKuwait's development projects, especially in construction.<\/p>\n
"You have good reputation in construction. It had been
\nmentioned by our cabinet delegation when they visited the
\nMinistry of Public Works. We have so many things to construct, if
\nyou have expertise to contribute, please come."<\/p>",
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