Kalla: Businessman to vice president

Kalla: Businessman to vice president

Andi Hajramurni, Contributor, Makassar

It never occurred to Muhammad Jusuf Kalla that he would ever become vice president.

He always had the ambition, as did his parents, to become a successful businessman. A businessman he eventually became and he has seriously applied himself to his chosen field.

He never thought of switching to another field or even joining the government bureaucracy, that is, not until Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked him to be his running mate in the recent presidential race.

Destiny is indeed hard to foresee. Jusuf Kalla, known affectionately as Ucu, said he had never imagined being Indonesia's second man. He has always led a life without any grandiose ambitions. He regards flowing water as a metaphor for his philosophy on life.

"It has been my ambition since childhood to be a successful businessman so that I can continue my late parents' businesses. I never imagined being vice president.

"I lead my life just like flowing water," he said on the sidelines of a gathering with residents of South Sulawesi, in Makassar, moments after the General Elections Commission officially declared him and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the winners of the presidential election.

Thanks to his philosophy on life, Jusuf Kalla, born in Watampone on May 15, 1942 as the second child of Haji Kalla and Athirah, has remained a modest person, who is not ambitious, but hardworking and responsible despite the great wealth of his family.

For him, nothing is impossible as long there is a will to try and to learn. He has also inculcated this philosophy in the minds of his siblings and his employees.

Born in a family of businesspeople, Jusuf, who is married to Mufidah, has clearly been endowed with the entrepreneurial spirit, especially because his parents hoped that he would later take over the family business.

That's why, after completing senior high school, he joined the school of economics at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, graduating in 1967.

A year later, his father, Hadji Kalla, handed over his company, NV Hadji Kalla, to Jusuf, his eldest son. He accepted this responsibility, even though the company was then embroiled in a crisis.

Assisted by one employee and armed with what he had learned in the school of economics as well as his experience as chairman of the students' senate in the school of economics and as the head of the Makassar chapter of the Association of Islamic Students (HMI), Jusuf eventually not only revived but also developed the family business, an export-import and transportation company.

His first step in developing the family business was to forge cooperation with Toyota.

Jusuf's earnestness in managing and expanding his family business led to the company's peak of glory. Under his leadership, NV Hadji Kalla now controls 10 subsidiaries in the automotive, transportation and construction businesses in Indonesia's eastern regions.

Jusuf Kalla's excellent managerial ability is attributable to his activities in HMI and also in the Joint Youth Secretariat of the Golkar Party in South Sulawesi.

Between 1965 and 1968, he was even named chairman of the organization and represented it in the South Sulawesi Legislative Assembly, a period that marked his political debut in Golkar.

A decade later, Jusuf was appointed member of the council of advisors of the Regional Executive Board of Golkar's South Sulawesi chapter, a position he held until 1999.

He was later appointed member of the council of advisors of the Central Executive Board of Golkar Party. He became more politically savvy after his stint as a member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for four consecutive five-year terms (1982 to 1987, 1987 to 1992, 1992 to 1997 and 1997 to 1999).

His involvement in various social, educational, religious and sports activities have enriched his life experience. Aside from handling his family business, Jusuf has also set up an educational foundation named after his mother, Athirah.

He is chairman of a number university foundations and chairman of the Islamic Center Foundation of Al Markaz Al Islami mosque in Makassar. He also serves as mustasyar (adviser) of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) South Sulawesi chapter. In the field of sports, he was once chairman of the Makassar Soccer Association and Makassar Utama Soccer Club.

It is these varied activities that have made Jusuf, a father of five children, not only a successful businessman but also a nationalist devoted to charity work.

That is why Jusuf did not hesitate to accept an offer to join the government bureaucracy as the minister of industry and trade when Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid (1999 to 2000) was president, a position from which he was later dismissed, reportedly due to involvement in corruption, an allegation that is yet to be proven to date.

When Megawati Soekarnoputri replaced Gus Dur as president, Jusuf was appointed coordinating minister for people's welfare. It was then that he gained prominence, because shortly after this appointment he took on an initiative to organize a peace treaty between two conflicting groups of people in Poso, Central Sulawesi and in Ambon, Maluku.

Under his guidance, the Malino I negotiation was held in 2001 to solve the conflict in Poso, followed later by Malino II in early 2002 to establish peace in Ambon, Maluku.

Jusuf was convinced then that to stop the ethnic and religious conflicts in the two regions, the root of the conflicts had to be identified first before a solution was jointly sought.

That is why the conflicting groups had to be brought together so that they could jointly work out a solution.

"Only those who are involved in the conflict can settle their conflict. If they agree to stop it, we are sure, the conflict will stop," he said, then.

Long before he became a minister, Jusuf was known as a peace- loving and charitable figure. In his university days, for example, he allowed part of his house to be used as a venue for gatherings of his colleagues from the HMI.

After the sectarian conflict that broke out in Makassar in 1997, Jusuf initiated an interreligious meeting and set up an interreligious forum to prevent such conflicts from recurring.

The river of life that Jusuf sailed along continued to flow with much stronger currents, which saw him taking part in the organization of Golkar's presidential convention. It was at this convention that his capability was proven.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the presidential candidate from the Democrat Party, saw this potential and asked him to be his running mate in the presidential race and Jusuf seized the opportunity. Has the river found its estuary or will it continue to flow?

Jusuf says he has no way of knowing. What he does know is that he strongly hopes to be able to bring about improvements for his countrymen. "I have only a single wish; that is, to give Indonesians a better life," he stressed.