Don't expect power to sap Hasan's brashness<\/p>\n
By Devi M. Asmarani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When he accepted the immense task of becoming
\nthe new industry and trade minister, Mohamad (Bob) Hasan
\nsubjected himself to fresh brouhaha on top of his already
\ncontroversial persona.<\/p>\n
Known then as a timber tycoon, one of the richest Indonesians
\nand a golf and fishing pal of President Soeharto, Bob was brought
\nback into the spotlight when his name appeared among those in the
\nnew cabinet lineup.<\/p>\n
Even before the March 14 announcement, intellectuals and
\nanalysts had widely warned the public that Bob's rumored
\nappointment would be an obvious sign of deeply rooted cronyism in
\nthe country's system.<\/p>\n
\"It will be useless if the new cabinet is filled with cronies
\nlike Bob Hasan...,\" a hard-core government critic, economist
\nHartojo Wignjowijoto, said prior to the announcement. He
\nreiterated the same comment days later when the gossip was
\nsubstantiated.<\/p>\n
But it would be unlike the garish Bob if such comments
\naffected him in the slightest.<\/p>\n
\"It's a free country, anyone can make their judgment,\" he told
\nhis first media briefing as a minister, referring to allegations
\nthat his appointment was merely due to his conspicuously close
\nrelationship with the President.<\/p>\n
To Bob, the first ethnic Chinese appointed minister during
\nSoeharto's 31 years of New Order, blunt criticism could be the
\nvery thing that strengthens him.<\/p>\n
Foreign and local critics ranging from environmentalists, the
\ninternational trade community, economists to the media have long
\nbeen keeping track of his \"sins\", which include using nepotistic
\nbusiness facilities, monopolizing the forestry industry, and
\nenvironmentally endangering the country's rain forests.<\/p>\n
But Bob's own bluntness and fierce counter-attacking of his
\nenemies have strengthened his bargaining power.<\/p>\n
Known as a headstrong businessman, he actually breathes fresh
\nair into the cabinet which usually consists of consensus-seeking
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
A no-nonsense speaker, he is known to make flagrant remarks,
\nwastes no time on public speeches and lacks the gracious and
\ngenteel tact of a high-ranking bureaucrat.<\/p>\n
Some say Bob is the type who -- unlike most guidance-asking
\nministers -- goes for what he wants. He is a troubleshooter who
\nhas proved himself useful in problem solving.<\/p>\n
Take a look at his vast business interests which include an
\nempire of forestry-based business and a diverse charity group.<\/p>\n
He is a founder and controller of two giant business groups,
\nthe Bob Hasan Group, or Pasopati Group, and the Nusamba Group.
\nBut his name has been linked to hundreds of companies from
\nlogging, wood-based, pulp and paper, mining, airline, chemical,
\ntelecommunications, plantation, media, insurance to finance
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
Bob, who has been listed by the U.S. Forbes magazine as the
\nworld's 107th richest man, has proven to Soeharto that he could
\nbe of great use in getting a share of the pie on large projects
\nfor the President's various foundations.<\/p>\n
The Nusamba Group, which he chairs, is a widely diversified
\ninvestment vehicle for three charities headed by Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The charities own 80 percent of Nusamba Group, while Bob and
\nSoeharto's eldest son Sigit Hardjojudanto own the remaining 10
\npercent each.<\/p>\n
The group businesses include the country's largest carmaker
\nPT Astra International, several banks, mining concessions, and
\nhis dominant forestry holding, the Kalimanis Group.<\/p>\n
Still, many avow that the camaraderie between Bob and the
\nstate leader has been the motor of his success all along.<\/p>\n
The alliance to power goes way back to the Army days of the
\nthen Col. Soeharto, who Bob befriended while he was a supplier of
\nmiscellaneous goods to the Central Java Army post.<\/p>\n
The friendship led to many triumphs in logging concessions
\nafter Soeharto came to power in 1967.<\/p>\n
In 1980, Soeharto urged Hasan to set up the Association of
\nIndonesian Wood Panel Producers (Apkindo) to revitalize the
\nfledgling plywood industry. Apkindo has since been condemned as a
\nplywood cartel by the international community.<\/p>\n
The relationship, however, may just be a factor that will
\ndifferentiate him from previous ministers in managing the
\ncountry's ailing industries during the monetary turmoil, which
\nhas gnawed deeply into all sectors of the country's economy.<\/p>\n
A business leader admits that Soeharto's affinity with Bob can
\nbe a plus for the crisis-hit industries.<\/p>\n
\"He has a power not possessed by other ministers: a close
\nassociation with the President,\" the businessman, who asked for
\nanonymity, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
This \"pushing power\", he says, can speed up the process and
\ncut through the usual bureaucratic chase.<\/p>\n
\"If this power is used positively, it could yield wonderful
\nresults.\"<\/p>\n
Still, this does not stop many people from worrying that Bob's
\nvast business interest will get in the way of objective policy-
\nmaking judgment, and that he may abuse the power for his own
\nbusiness benefits.<\/p>\n
Complex<\/p>\n
Boastful, cocky and condescending, as he can appear sometimes,
\nBob is viewed by many who know him as a complex personality.<\/p>\n
\"He is a maverick, he has the ability to make the unthinkable
\nhappen,\" one journalist said.<\/p>\n
Bob Hasan is a street-wise person, who sees everything as a
\nchallenge: \"A man who can make lots of money but who doesn't know
\nhow to spend it.\"<\/p>\n
Bob was born on Feb. 24, 1931 in Semarang, Central Java,
\nbearing the Chinese name The Kian Seng. His family background
\nremains a mystery to most people, like a missing piece of a
\npuzzle.<\/p>\n
Bob's path to success has not always been paved with gold.<\/p>\n
Before he climbed his way up in the business world, he was a
\ntruck driver in Semarang. He was later adopted as a surrogate
\nson by the late Gen. Gatot Subroto, one of the founders of the
\ncountry's Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
Unlike many of his business and bureaucrat colleagues, he does
\nnot carry any formal titles.<\/p>\n
High school was the last formal education he completed,
\nfollowed by some informal courses in business.<\/p>\n
In the early 1950's, Bob made perhaps the smartest and most
\ncalculating decision: he converted to Islam.<\/p>\n
He then married a Cirebon (West Java) native, Pratiwi Soemadi,
\nand raised three adopted children.<\/p>\n
Decades later, Bob is not only a stakeholder in hundreds of
\ncompanies, he has also become a powerful figure in the forestry
\nand wood-based industry.<\/p>\n
His passion for sports, enables him to participate and head
\nseveral sports organizations.<\/p>\n
Bob has once said that he played golf with Soeharto three or
\nfour times a week and usually won.<\/p>\n
His cavalierism is revealed in his preference to drive his own
\ncar even after he took up the ministerial post, although most
\npeople of his rank are driven around by their chauffeurs.<\/p>\n
One of Bob's loyalist once told a group of reporters that it
\nwould take at least two to three months to be able to keep up
\nwith the pace he sets.<\/p>\n
To reporters, Bob, who often shows off his press card while
\nholding a media conference, has not always made a good
\nimpression.<\/p>\n
On some occasions, Bob cunningly manages to sneak past a pack
\nof lingering newshounds, with the help of his loyal assistants.<\/p>\n
If an encounter with the media is unavoidable, he is not shy
\nabout make brash remarks, sometimes launching personal attacks on
\nreporters, instead of remaining tightlipped as most of his equals
\nwould.<\/p>",
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