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.