Foresaking high paying job paid off for Carrick
By Prapti Widinugraheni
Ambassador Roger J. Carrick is ending his term as head of the British mission in Indonesia this month. The ambassador granted a request for an interview with The Jakarta Post to discuss his personal background and to reminiscence about his four year term in Indonesia.
JAKARTA (JP): Had British Ambassador Roger J. Carrick accepted a job at the British Petroleum, Unilever or Shell 30 years ago, he would not have experienced the exciting ups and downs of being a diplomat. Nor would he have achieved his dreams.
Looking back today, Carrick has no regrets that he forsook high paying jobs to join the British Foreign Service.
"I had wanted to get into foreign service since I was 16 or 17 ... and I was lucky enough to pass the exam," he recalls, adding that he applied at the three companies "in case I didn't get into diplomatic service".
He has since worked in Bulgaria, Paris, Singapore and three different places in the United States.
Carrick, 56, made his first encounter with Indonesia four years ago. Although it was his first time in the country, he claimed he was not surprised at the atmosphere.
"I found no difficulty in adjusting because I had been in Singapore some 20 years ago. I also did a lot of background reading before coming here," he says. So thorough was his reading that "even the traffic jams were no surprise".
Carrick, who will be moving on to Australia later this month, feels there was one thing he wasn't quite prepared for -- something he felt his successor should also remember.
"Study the language," he said firmly.
A former student of Slavic languages, Carrick considers he has not studied Bahasa Indonesia enough. "..saya mencoba bicara...," he said in carefully spoken, but understandable, Indonesian.
He said he struggled through the lowest level of British Foreign Service examinations in Bahasa Indonesia after doing a two-week course in Yogyakarta. "So I have qualifications in the language, even if it's a low one," he added modestly.
During his term in the country, Carrick has been especially impressed by Indonesia's beauty and diversity, everything from geography to culture and even standard of living.
His most memorable experiences in the country includes an overnight journey by sea from an island in Sulawesi to Pulau Mangole in Maluku, flying by helicopter to the glaciers of Puncak Jayawijaya in Irian Jaya, and walking along sand and coral-lined streets on the island of Banda in Maluku. "The tropical sunsets I saw do not even appear in the tourist literature of Bali," he recalls.
Carrick, who has traveled to 20 of Indonesia's 27 provinces, adds to his list of memorable experiences a visit to the ancient British Fort Marlboro in Bengkulu and a submarine trip under the Java Sea during the British naval visit to Surabaya. "I can't stop talking about the physical side of the country. It is just splendid," he remarked.
On the diplomatic side, however, he tells of an experience that would be most unforgettable to any sensitive diplomat.
"The day of the tragedy of Dili on Nov. 12, 1991, is one I shall never forget. That was a very sobering memory indeed."
But, like any other residents of Jakarta, he also has his least memorable experiences "Sitting in interminable macet- macet," he says of the city's traffic jams.
"It is most interesting to see and be a part of Indonesia's growth in economy," Carrick says about his post here.
He notes there have been important changes taking place in the country during his tenure, "which means one has to adjust to one's previous perception".
The changes, among others, are a distinctive trend towards openness and democracy.
"It is perhaps quite a long way before you are operating in the same way as some Western countries. But then you're not a western country," he says "But I have seen tremendous changes and I think they are going to continue."
He considers the changes very healthy. "I think you will become more and more open as the world becomes smaller -- we all live in a global village."
Carrick notes also that he has seen some distinctive improvement in human rights records, notably following the Dili incident. "From where we sit ... we shall hope to see those changes continue," he says.
On the economic side, Carrick says Indonesia's rapid economic growth has changed his initial perceptions.
Pointing to the country's attitude towards foreign investment, he says the recent deregulations "are extremely welcomed by the serious financial community outside Indonesia, including Britain."
"I am lucky to be here at a time bilateral relations are evolving in a positive way," Carrick says.
With visible trade between the two countries over US$1.5 billion each year and exchange programs in security, trade and investment taking place, "British-Indonesian relations are now as good as they have ever been, and as good as they've been since Raffles left".
British investment, which currently ranks fifth on Indonesia's list of foreign investors, reaches about $3.75 billion.
Carrick's keen interest in culture has also led him to promote cultural ties between the two countries.
Among the cultural exchanges which have taken place during his term of office here are the "Island to Island" dance performances presented by Indonesians in London, and the "Surat Emas" exhibitions -- currently traveling throughout Indonesia -- showing ancient letters from Indonesian sultans to British kings and queens.
Carrick acknowledges that bilateral relations can be further enhanced through trade, investment, improvement of the human rights record, openness and democracy.
Although he says British aid is unconditional, this does not necessarily mean Britain is not interested in human rights or in good governance. "Just occasionally we have cut aid ... such as in Somalia and Sudan," he says.
Other ways to improve bilateral relations, he says, "will depend on some bright ideas from my successor, so I will leave that to him".
He seems particularly pleased with his success in negotiations to buy a piece of land for a new ambassadors residence on Jl. Tengku Umar in the exclusive Menteng area.
Carrick and his wife Hilary, whom he met in the Foreign Service, currently live in Kemang, South Jakarta -- an area infamous for its almost non-stop traffic-jams.
He regrets that he won't be able to enjoy the new residence.
A father of two grown up sons, both living in England with families of their own, Carrick says he would like to be remembered as someone who was enormously grateful and happy to have been allowed to live and work here.
"And in doing so to have gained so much enrichment from the myriads of cultures, people and beauty," he says.