Guess What? Onghokham

The 68th birthday party of historian Onghokham on May 1 at the National Archives building, Central Jakarta, was somewhat subdued. It could be that the guests would have preferred that the party was held at Ong's house as usual where they could savor food that Ong cooked himself.

This year, Ong could not cook the customary birthday fried noodles because on Feb. 14 he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while in Yogyakarta attending the 80th birthday party of fellow historian Sartono Kartodirdjo. Ong has since been confined to a wheelchair.

His skills in the kitchen are well-known. Even a will that Ong delivered to fellow historian Adrian P. Lapian at Panti Rapih hospital in Yogyakarta was related to food.

Ong's close friend, Myra Sidharta, claims that part of Ong's estate is in his freezer. "Lapian listed all of Ong's wishes. One of them is to bequeath a bandeng fish (in the freezer) to (lawyer) Kartini Mulyadi, a former schoolmate of Ong's."

The most precious thing is his favorite alcoholic beverage. Ong has told his best friends that he will drink the Armagnac only when he is on his deathbed.

"We have done what he has asked us to do and given him a bit of the drink," Myra said.

Ong has been wanting to found a foundation to take care of his collection of books and to help continue his research. On March 13, a group of Ong's close friends helped him realize his dream and established the Studies on Indonesian History Foundation. (ind)