Dorodjatun ready for challenge of ambassadorial post

Dorodjatun ready for challenge of ambassadorial post

By Ivy Susanti

JAKARTA (JP): Senior economist Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti says
his new post as Indonesian Ambassador to Washington is a huge
challenge given the rapid changes evolving in the United States,
but a welcome intellectual stimulation.

Dorodjatun has spent most of his career on campuses or
attached to international economic bodies -- such as being an
advisor to the APEC Business Advisory Council -- and he hopes his
new post will help him develop fresh approaches to economic,
social and political ties that benefit both Indonesia and the
United States.

"I am entering this new post when my discipline (economics) is
being doubted by many people; you can't imagine the psychological
fear now looming in my mind," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

"I recognize the limitations of the tools of my trade (and I
cannot) understand all that's happening today," he said.
"However, I consider the post a challenge to find a new trend
(for social, economic and political relations) for the 21st
century."

"This is a real excitement and intellectually challenging
(even though) in reality I will certainly not be able to apply
all (the results of the intellectual stimulation)," Dorodjatun
said after he was formally installed as the new ambassador
replacing Arifin Siregar.

He is scheduled to leave for Washington this week.

Born on Nov. 25, 1939 in Rangkasbitung, West Java, Dorodjatun
is no stranger to the United States. He left Indonesia in 1964
and spent about five years pursuing his masters degree at the
University of California at Berkeley. Fourteen years later, he
earned his doctorate from the same university.

He concedes that the social and political situation in the
United States had changed greatly. When he was a postgraduate
student, he witnessed fellow students clamoring against many of
the American government's policies, particularly on the Vietnam
War. The criticism expanded to other spheres, including the
nation's whole philosophy on life.

Dorodjatun observed that in 1967 and the following few years,
the American youth placed great emphasis on issues such as
ecology and human rights protection. However, gradually, the
debates evolved to include issues such as women's rights and
freedom of the press.

"Those issues spread to the whole world. We saw student
movements in European countries, in Latin America, and Asia, and
from that hundreds of thousands of non-governmental organizations
were born," he said.

"For me, this is the America that I will have to face. The
America that I left in 1969 had just shown the tendency to act as
it is now.

"The end of the Cold War gave (the United States) a bigger
opportunity to deal with those issues without fear that it would
be seen as meddling in wars of ideology and leaning toward the
left," he said.

"Today, it would be hard to accuse ecology activists as being
leftists. Likewise for activists of human rights, labor rights,
women's roles."

Dorodjatun started his career as a lecturer at the University
of Indonesia's School of Economics, was given various positions
over the years, and became the school's dean in 1994. He ended
his tenure earlier this month and was replaced by fellow lecturer
Anwar Nasution.

Ever since his student days, Dorodjatun has been critical of
many government policies. "I may be critical, but that is in a
relationship (with the government) that is more of a
partnership," he said. "I don't see myself as in opposition."

Besides, he contended, the American community he will meet may
be even more critical of Indonesia.

"My job is to process the information I obtain from (America),
no matter how painful it might be, as input for the bilateral
relationship policy that would benefit both sides," he said.

He acknowledged some issues are thorns in the flesh,
particularly Indonesia's record on labor and human rights.

"Not all of the criticism is malicious, but more a sign of
changing times in the social and political life in the United
States," he said.

"Such criticism is normal. Now we have to consider how we, in
Indonesia, will place ourselves in the context of a changing
society with global impacts," he remarked, adding that some
countries like Singapore, Malaysia and China had already tried to
understand differences of culture and perception and showed their
willingness to adjust.

Dorodjatun said that at the top of his "to do" list once he
arrived in Washington would be assuming the role of public
relations officer for Indonesia.

"I have to welcome the press, the universities, all the
reading public and finally the U.S. Congress as the highest
representation of a generation which is more and more assertive,"
he said.

Dorodjatun married Emiwati, a librarian, in 1973. They have
three daughters; the eldest is studying arts in Seattle, the
second is studying at the University of Indonesia's School of
Economics and the youngest is in her first year in junior high
school in Jakarta.

"My family are accustomed to campus life, so it might take
them some time to adjust when they realize that they have to
shift and become the family of a bureaucrat," he said.

"For my wife, who is a working woman, this is the first time
she will have to leave her job. She once said that she would like
to continue working in the U.S., but I think it would be
difficult in her role as an ambassador's wife."

"My children are so independent that they insisted on
continuing their studies where they are. So I don't know when we
will be gathered again as a family," he said.