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.