Love has bound first family together
Love has bound first family together
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Who says an only child always grows up to be a dependent, spoilt, disorganized and underachieving person later in his or her life?
This thesis is certainly unsubstantiated in the case of Indonesia's sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is the only child of soldier Raden Soekotjo and Sitti Habibah.
Born in the remote East Java village of Tremas in Pacitan regency on Sept. 9, 1949, Susilo, or Sus as his parents called him, was raised in a modest but disciplined family.
Young Susilo left his hometown after his parents divorced in 1965. Four years later he joined the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, and finished his studies there as the best graduate in December 1973. He was awarded the Adhi Mahayana medal for his achievement.
He then met Kristiani Herrawati, the third daughter of a general, the late Lt. Gen. Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, who was then the governor of the Military Academy.
They fell in love and embarked on a long distance relationship, with Susilo in Magelang and Kristiani in Jakarta.
Kristiani, or Ani, who was born in Jakarta on July 6, 1952, was a student at the Indonesian Christian University (UKI), Jakarta, when she met Susilo.
Susilo's father, Soekotjo, was initially worried about the gap in social status between his son and Ani. However, his fears proved groundless.
The lovers got married on July 30, 1976. Their wedding reception at the Hotel Indonesia, Central Jakarta, was held together with those for two of Ani's sisters for practical reasons. Susilo's father-in-law, Sarwo Edhie, who was then the Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea, refused point-black to travel back and forth between Seoul and Jakarta to witness his daughters' weddings.
Susilo was delighted to discover that Ani was pregnant in December 1977, because as an only child he was worried that they might have fertility problems.
Ani gave birth to their first son, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, in Bandung on Aug. 8, 1978.
Like father, like son. Agus, a basketball and book enthusiast, joined the Military Academy. He left the academy in 2000 as the best graduate, which earned him the Adhi Mahayana medal, which his father had won 27 years earlier.
Agus was assigned to the battlefield in Aceh as an officer in the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) when the province came under a martial law, which lasted from May 2003 to May 2004. During his stint, his troops discovered a mass grave containing civilians and military personnel killed by Free Aceh Movement (GAM) insurgents in Manggamat district.
He is now a platoon commander in the Special Forces' 305th Battalion in Karawang, West Java.
Unlike his elder brother, Susilo's second son, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, decided to pursue a different career to that of his father.
Born in Bandung on Nov. 11, 1980, Edhie, or Ibas as his parents call him, is studying for a bachelor's degree in the School of Finance and e-Commerce at Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Ani says she expects her son to graduate next year.
Hamsina Mukaddas, a member of the team of writers that penned Susilo's biography, SBY Sang Demokrat (SBY the Democrat), told The Jakarta Post that Ibas had originally wished to join his brother in the Military Academy.
"The two siblings are very close to each other. However, Ibas changed his mind after seeing his friends stop discussing the reform movement and student demonstrations upon his arrival," she said.
"Ibas thought his friends might avoid such discussions in front of the son of a military officer, who at that time was considered to be opposed to the student movement. He then decided not to join the military."
Hamsina said that every time Susilo went abroad, he used to take his sons to a local public library. "This has led the two sons developing a deep love of books," she said.