Alatas, 70 and still going strong

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When former foreign minister Ali Alatas celebrates his 70th birthday on Monday, it will be a good moment to reflect on his achievements and failures as a diplomat for about 45 years up until 1999.

There is a long list of his successes as a foreign minister for more than 11 years from 1988, including his leading role in ending the prolonged political crisis in Cambodia. After three years of presiding over exhausting negotiations among the warring factions, peace slowly returned to Cambodia after the Paris Conference in October 1991.

Five years later, the Philippine government and Muslim rebel Nur Misuari from the Moro Nationalist Liberation Front (MNLF) reached a peace agreement. Alatas again played a crucial role during the negotiations.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post at his office, Makarim & Taira S law firm on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, Alatas talked about his experience as a diplomat. He openly conceded the tragic and bloody break away of East Timor from Indonesia in 1999 as the most bitter event of his career.

It was even more bitter because B.J. Habibie, who replaced Soeharto in May 1998, did not consult Alatas, as his foreign minister, at all when he suddenly proposed the referendum for East Timor.

"My regret is not about East Timor's separation from us. That is a matter of fate. But it could have been done in a peaceful manner," said Alatas.

Alatas often described the problem of East Timor "like a pebble in the shoe" for Indonesia. He laughed when told that it was not just a pebble, but a bomb for Indonesia.

Alatas was deeply involved in the East Timor issue. He was always very confident that East Timor would remain a part of Indonesia. Only when the Santa Cruz massacre erupted on Nov. 12, 1991, did he start to worry about the fate of the tiny province.

In 1994, he said Soeharto flatly turned down his proposal to give special autonomy to East Timor. He recalled how Soeharto let him finish talking about his proposal during a meeting, but then said,"No," to him.

Alatas, born in Jakarta on Nov. 4, 1932, praised several people who assisted him during his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, although he worked for 10 years as Soeharto's foreign minister, for Ali Alatas, former foreign minister and vice president the late Adam Malik, was likely the most influential figure in his career as a diplomat. Alatas illustrated his respect for Soeharto when asked about the former president, who he served as foreign minister for 10 years until his fall in May 1988, but he was more passionate when talking about Adam Malik.

Alatas disclosed several funny stories about Adam Malik, for whom Alatas worked as secretary when Adam was the foreign minister from 1975 to 1976. Also when he served Adam as secretary when the latter was vice president from 1978 to 1982.

Bored because he had to repeat similar statements about Indonesia to his guests, Adam often asked Ali to repeat his previous statements in English, although what he said in Bahasa Indonesia was completely different from what Ali had to pretend to translate.

"I had to pretend to translate what he was saying. Actually I just repeated his previous remarks, and of course I could not translate what he really said because it might upset the guests. I just pretended to be busy," Alatas recalled in a conversation with The Jakarta Post on Friday.

However one day, Adam and Ali had an embarrassing moment during a meeting with ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. As usual, Adam asked Ali to repeat his previous remarks, and laughed when Ali reminded him that the Malaysian ambassador understood what he said.

"So you understood what I said," Adam asked the ambassador after realizing his mistake.

When asked about any funny experiences with Soeharto, Adam replied, "It was not often funny with him." But then quickly added that Soeharto gave him the freedom to direct Indonesia's foreign diplomacy because Soeharto was not interested in the details of diplomacy.

Soeharto, of course, was happy with his chief diplomat because Alatas helped him realize his dream of appearing to be a leading world leader. In 1992, Soeharto chaired the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Jakarta. Two years later he hosted the second Asia Pacific Economic Summit (APEC) summit in Bogor, West Java.

In 1992, Soeharto portrayed himself as the spokesman of developing countries. Alatas then held a press conference to reveal the results of his negotiations with industrialized countries and major donors. He expressed his disappointment in length, as he had failed to persuade them to write off or reduce their loans to the least developed nations in Africa.

"You know what they replied to our proposal?" Alatas asked the journalists tersely.

"Enak di lu kagak enak di gue (It is only good for you but not good for us," a reporter answered, imitating a Betawi joke.

Alatas was reportedly tipped to become United Nations secretary-general in the early 1990s, but his boss Soeharto was apparently not interested in Alatas holding the job.

"No, I was never formally nominated for that position. And I never discussed it with Pak Harto," Alatas played down the report.

Alatas, who is of Arab descent, retired as a diplomat in October 1999, when Abdurrahman Wahid became the country's fourth president replacing Habibie. When Megawati replaced Abdurrahman last year, she asked Alatas to be his advisor on foreign affairs.

Now, Alatas works with the Makarim & Taira S law firm advising foreign executives who want to know more about Indonesia.

He enjoys his days with his wife Anisa and their three daughters, who have given them five grandchildren.

"Attending seminars is also one of my favorite activities," said Alatas.