Kafi, laughing marketing guru<\/p>\n
T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, tabita@cbn.net.id<\/p>\n
Kafi Kurnia was talking about corruption during a radio program
\nlast week when he suddenly burst into laughter. One of the
\nlisteners, became upset and immediately called the radio station
\nto warn him to be more serious in addressing such problems.<\/p>\n
Kafi apologized, explaining that he had no intention to laugh
\nat anyone.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Kafi laughs a lot. He attributes his ability to laugh,
\neven during the hard times, to John Irving. \"He talked about
\ntragedy in his books, but still he could make us laugh at his
\ndark humor.\"<\/p>\n
But Kafi's own story is far from tragic. At 43, he is known as
\na successful consultant in the fields of communication and
\nmarketing. A managing director of Interbrand, and a consultant
\nfor a Singapore-based company, he is often invited to speak at
\nuniversities around the country. Every Wednesday he talks on the
\nradio and he writes regularly. A collection of his writing was
\npublished in 2001, and his second book will hit the shelves next
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
He used to work for the Hero Group and moved to another
\ncompany -- which holds the license for Levi's, Nike and other
\ninternational brands -- before he established his own consulting
\nfirm.<\/p>\n
Among his clients are government offices, including the
\nMinistry of Health and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and
\nFisheries. He was asked for his advice on humanitarian programs
\nin Aceh. And the Ministry of Maritime Affairs asked him to devise
\npromotional strategies for the launching of the year of the sea.<\/p>\n
The government, he said, lacks the skills needed to promote
\ntheir own program.<\/p>\n
\"It's not that we are a low profile nation. Actually that is
\njust a myth. Many of us are actually very high profile,\" he said.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons why government officials lack in
\npromotional skills, according to Kafi, is because of the
\ncentralized bureaucracy. Civil servants are accustomed to asking
\nfor petunjuk, or direction, from their supervisor and will not
\nact on their own initiative.<\/p>\n
He said that some programs promoted by the central government
\nwere very successful -- such as the family planning program -- as
\nIndonesia was able to sharply curb its population growth. The
\nclaim of some activists, who said that coercion was used in the
\nimplementation of the program, was just a reflection of the era.<\/p>\n
\"Well, if the officials got results at any cost, was that so
\nunusual? At that time it happened.\"<\/p>\n
Kafi has a great interest in politics and the economy. He
\ncould happily spend hours discussing potential next-presidents.
\nAnd he enthusiastically argues that Indonesia needs the
\nleadership of an entrepreneur, in order to establish the welfare
\nof the people.<\/p>\n
\"We have so many excellent commodities we could sell
\ninternationally, unfortunately, we cannot sell them,\" he
\nlamented.<\/p>\n
His first lesson in politics was from William Booth, the
\nfounder of the Salvation Army -- which opened many schools
\nacross the country. Booth believed that it was impossible to
\nteach the people about salvation if they were hungry.<\/p>\n
\"This dependency is also the case with politics and the
\neconomy. They are one. Politics can not work without money,\" Kafi
\nsaid on Friday, while having his lunch - spaghetti bolognaise,
\nmango juice and an espresso - at a five-star hotel cafe in the
\nheart of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Wasn't he afraid of a bomb attack?<\/p>\n
\"I was thinking of boycotting such places, not because of the
\nbomb threat, but because of the excessive yet inappropriate
\nsecurity measures. There were times when I was checked not by a
\nbomb detector, but by a metal detector,\" he grumbled.<\/p>\n
Kafi, who was born in Jakarta, was educated in a Protestant
\nelementary school run by the Salvation Army here, and later went
\nto a Catholic high school. He then studied for an MBA degree in
\nmarketing at the liberal campus of the New South Wales Institute
\nof Technology in Australia, where he also shaped his spiritual
\nlife. The young Kafi was at that time questioning his faith.<\/p>\n
\"Religion is one of the biggest mysteries,\" he said. His
\nprofessor approached the restless young man -- who was looking
\nfor all the answers in his spiritual quest -- and said, \"Why
\ndon't you return to your roots?\" And Kafi began to contemplate
\nwhat it was to be an Indonesian Chinese and started to learn
\nabout Eastern philosophy, including the teaching of Tao,
\nConfucius, Gandhi and Buddha.<\/p>\n
\"Finally, I decided to become a Buddhist,\" said Kafi.<\/p>\n
His parents are Confucians. His late father was a journalist
\nwith Harian Indonesia, a Chinese newspaper, and his mother an
\nentrepreneur. He has two younger brothers and is not married.
\nLike other men who remain single, Kafi is experiencing social
\npressure, especially from his mother. He says he is single
\nbecause he has not found the right woman.<\/p>\n
\"A woman should complement me. I believe that a man and a
\nwoman are created to complete each other,\" said Kafi, who loves
\nreading - he always reads in the toilet and in his car.<\/p>\n
But without a woman, Kafi does not find his life empty or
\nflawed.<\/p>\n
\"Its just like a bicycle. A bicycle has two wheels. But there
\nare also monocycles (one-wheeled cycles),\" he said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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