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.