Indonesian Presidential Aide's Date During Overseas Official Visit
Dating during an overseas official visit might seem reckless today, but history records that an Indonesian president’s aide once experienced this when accompanying Indonesia’s first President Soekarno to Vienna, Austria, in 1963.
The individual involved in this unusual incident was Major Bambang Widjanarko. At the time, he was part of Bung Karno’s delegation in Vienna for kidney treatment. During the week-long medical agenda, Soekarno asked Bambang if he had enjoyed Vienna’s nightclubs. Bambang replied he had not.
Soekarno then instructed Bambang to do so, but with specific conditions. ‘But there’s a catch, Mbang: first, you must find a local partner, an Austrian girl. Second, tomorrow morning you must recount your entire experience over breakfast,’ Soekarno said, as recounted by Bambang in his autobiography ‘Sewindu Dekat Bung Karno’ (1988).
Upon hearing the order, the entire delegation burst into laughter, knowing the president was teasing his trusted aide.
The joke grew longer when businessman Agus Dasaad quipped that Bambang likely didn’t have enough money for Vienna’s nightclubs. Soekarno then went into his room and returned with cash for Bambang — $50.
However, according to Dasaad, that amount only covered one bottle of champagne. ‘A bottle costs $50. So Bambang couldn’t just sit alone drinking it all, could he? Otherwise, tomorrow’s story would be dull,’ Dasaad said.
Soekarno immediately asked Dasaad to provide additional funds, knowing his friend was wealthy.
That night, Bambang carried out his superior’s instructions. He met a woman named Renata, whom he assumed was a native Austrian. According to Bambang’s account, ‘Renata was sweet, blonde, and fond of joking.’
They chatted warmly throughout the night until Renata mentioned she was born in a place called ‘Clateen’ in Java. The man born on 9 September 1929 was initially confused and probed Renata’s background, only to realise she meant Klaten.
‘So you’re a Dutch woman born in Java. That’s part of Indonesia, my country, and you weren’t born in Clateen but Klaten in Central Java,’ Bambang recalled.
The next morning, Bambang recounted the story over breakfast with Soekarno and the delegation. He admitted he had not fulfilled the task properly. ‘Sir, I’m a bit embarrassed to tell this. I couldn’t fully complete the task you gave me,’ Bambang said.
‘Go on, Mbang! You’re just making me curious,’ Soekarno insisted.
Bambang then recounted meeting several women from Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, and Germany. However, when he mentioned Renata, it became the source of laughter.
Because, despite travelling far to Vienna for a date, the woman he met was actually a Dutch woman born in Klaten, Central Java. Soekarno laughed uproariously upon hearing the story.