Haryono Suyono, a minister of many talents

Haryono Suyono, a minister of many talents

By Santi W.E. Sukanto

JAKARTA (JP): Several local reporters covering the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) ministerial conference on population late last
year squirmed uncomfortably as they listened to a long string of
foreign officials speak about their countries' population
programs.

"That minister's Javanese is worse than mine," a woman
journalist whispered to a colleague, jokingly calling an
official's strongly accented English "Javanese." "I can't
understand good English, much less this official's English."

"Don't worry, Pak Haryono will translate for us," the
colleague answered, and turned expectantly toward Minister of
Population Haryono Suyono, who was accompanying the foreign
officials as they met the press.

Immediately after one foreign official ended his speech,
Haryono, who was hosting the conference, launched into a precise,
detailed interpretation of his counterpart's speech. He
apparently had been listening very closely because, without
taking any notes, he was able to flawlessly recount all that the
foreign official had said.

He ended his translation with a broad grin, saying, "Didn't I
do well? If ever I'm out of work, I think I can become an
interpreter. Or maybe The Jakarta Post would hire me as a
reporter?"

Surely being out of work would be the last thing to happen to
Haryono Suyono. One of the architects of Indonesia's family
planning scheme some 20 years ago, Haryono is now ready to launch
another ambitious scheme.

He prepared the country's new movement, "prosperous families
as agents of development," which President Soeharto recently
announced during the celebration of National Family Day.

Soon after being appointed Minister of Population last year,
Haryono busied himself with establishing indicators to study and
manage poor families in the country.

In a recent interview with the Post he acknowledged that the
indicators, which categorize families into several stages of
prosperity, were very simple -- so simple that some people have
expressed doubts that they will be applicable for the
complicated, multifaceted problem of poverty in the country.

"It's often the simple things that work," he said. "We made it
simple, because we are aiming to change people's behavior. And we
have proven that [the indicators] work."

Haryono also acknowledged that people called him a "dreamer"
when his ministry pledged a war against poverty by making use of
the simple indicators.

"So what? I have often been accused of `dreaming,'" he said.
"Some 20 years ago I was accused of dreaming when I came up with
the family planning movement."

"Critics once said that people would not accept family
planning programs for many reasons, much less buy
contraceptives," he said, "Now, they are all buying
contraceptives themselves."

He went on to describe Indonesia's success in the family
planning programs, and the international acknowledgement the
country has received.

Included in the country's honors have been the United Nations
Population Award, which President Soeharto received in 1989, and
the fact that 1,870 officials from 73 countries have come to
learn from Indonesian experts on population.

Sociologist

To many reporters who specialize in population development
affairs, Haryono is a very approachable figure. He is
knowledgeable of his ministry's programs and those established by
the Coordination Board of the National Family Planning Program
(BKKBN), which he chairs. He can recite figures and data
accurately, and always has time to meet with journalists.

"This is the first time I've been hugged by a minister," was
one reporter's surprised comment about Haryono's warmth toward
people around him.

Born in a small town, Pacitan, in East Java on May 6, 1938,
Haryono finished high school in Yogyakarta. He went on to study
at the School of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, but dropped
out before completing his degree. He went on to Jakarta and
studied statistics at the Jakarta College of Statistics.

After working at the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS)
between 1963 to 1969, he won a scholarship at the University of
Chicago and obtained a masters degree in the field of Population
Research and Computer Applications in 1971.

In 1972 he obtained a doctorate in sociology, specializing in
communications and social changes.

Returning from the United States, he established a set of
social indicators for the BPS, which were developed later into
indicators for social welfare.

He became a coordinator for research and development at the
Coordination Board of the National Family Planning Program and,
later, deputy for the family planning program. In 1983 he was
appointed head of the agency, a position he still holds.

When he was deputy of the BKKBN, he actively campaigned for
family planning in rural areas. Despite resistance from many
parties, including religious leaders who believed family planning
techniques were against religious creeds, Haryono played a great
role in propelling the movement forward.

Haryono, who is also chairman of the Association of Indonesian
Sociologists, was co-founder and former deputy of the Board of
Directors of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health
(PATH).

He is currently chairman of the International Committee for
Management of Population Program, whose headquarters is in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.

Haryono has been the recipient of a number of awards,
including the Hugh Moore Awards from the University of Baltimore,
and the Management Development Award from the Institute of
Management in the Philippines, as well as having his name
inscribed in a classroom in the University of Baltimore.

Married for 31 years to Astuti Hasinah, Haryono has three
daughters and a son, and is a proud grandfather of three
grandchildren: Randy, Indra and Cherry.