Kristiani ready for state responsibilities

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Long before the Cabinet ministers picked by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed their contracts, Kristiani Herawati signed one that would bind her to him for life, though not imagining for a moment that it would entail the role of First Lady.

The prospect dawned on her only as the General Elections Commission announced her husband's landslide win in the presidential election.

Married to Susilo in July 1976, she said she had no idea how to prepare for their move to Merdeka Palace. Susilo plans to live at the palace for the five years of his term for reasons of efficiency and security.

His decision not to remain at his private residence in Bogor was also made out of consideration to motorists, as his entourage would have traveled to the Palace on a daily basis, he said.

A former medical student at the Indonesian Christian University and an avid reader of histories and biographies, Kristiani is prepared for having less time to herself.

"I have never been entirely free since we married ... I became accustomed to protocol and ceremonial activities during his service with the Indonesian Military (TNI) and in government," she told Koran Tempo daily recently.

Kristiani, the daughter of Maj. Gen. Sarwo Edhie -- former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and former governor of the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java -- was born on July 5, 1952

Her experience overseas includes a few years in South Korea during her father's assignment as Indonesia's ambassador there, apart from the United States when Susilo was in training at Fort Benning and when studying at Webster University, Missouri.

Nevertheless, she confided that at first she did feel "sidelined" in the face of so many people -- especially women -- wanting to acquaint themselves with Susilo. "They forgot that his wife was there ..." she said.

While the contracts for Susilo's ministers contain the statement that they will "work hard and honestly", as some candidates revealed, the couple wishes to ensure that the First Family does not set a bad example.

She said that before Oct. 20, the couple would bring together their extended family, including their two sons, to caution them against abusing the privileges that come with the presidency. "We'll tell them what may and what may not be done. The family must be firm in the face of temptation -- that is hard," she told Koran Tempo.

The image of many a leader has been tarnished by family members who covet wealth and power. The family is evidently facing changes already: Friends whom she had rarely heard from have suddenly made frequent calls, she said.

Kristiani said she met her husband for the first time while on holiday in Magelang. Then commander of the cadet corps, reporting to her father when he was governor of the Military Academy, Susilo stood out as he was slim and taller than the average Indonesian.

Susilo's father was reportedly shocked at the news that his son was dating the governor's daughter, but he managed to convince his family that it would not be a problem.

"My mother liked him, he was so polite," Kristiani said. They were engaged in 1974, and at times she received a number of his poems, reflecting a romantic side also displayed in his penchant for singing.

Their wedding two years later came days before Susilo's new assignment to East Timor, where a military operation was getting underway following the government's decision to annex the former Portuguese colony.

"I felt desperate when he did not send any news for a month while his fellow officer was reportedly killed in the operation," she recalled. But to her relief, he later managed to make contact and chat with his new wife over the radio.

In the next five years, the First Lady may be the one who the President turns to in the face of difficult decisions.

She said she had fully supported her husband's decision in October 1999, to leave military service and accept former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's offer to become minister of energy and mineral resources.

With that decision, Susilo who was then chief of TNI territorial affairs, lost his chance to climb the ladder to the Army's number one position, one of the most powerful posts in the country's history.

His further appointments as coordinating minister for political and security affairs in the Cabinets of Gus Dur and Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2000 and 2001 respectively, pushed him further into the spotlight.

Kristiani reveals little about Susilo's decision to run for the presidency, only saying that she also fully supported his decision to quit from Megawati's Cabinet before the general election. She became a volunteer for his presidential campaign.

In a biography Susilo simply says of her, "She's everything, a crucial part of my whole life."

He has given an indication of her job description: "As First Lady, she will certainly make a significant contribution ... to education and women's empowerment. She will turn a receptive ear to all, but she won't interfere in the decision-making process," he said.