Opportunity never knocks twice: Agum

Opportunity never knocks twice: Agum

By Arifuddin Saeni

UJUNGPANDANG (JP): Wirabuana Regional Military Commander Maj.
Gen. Agum Gumelar believes opportunities do not crop up twice and
that people must take advantage of situations the first time
around.

Agum, who was posted to the South Sulawesi capital in August
last year but whose jurisdiction covers the four provinces in the
island, was referring to the government's plan to turn South
Sulawesi into the gateway to eastern Indonesia and to accelerate
development there.

"There are plenty of openings and opportunities available for
us if we're willing to make use of them. It's up to the South
Sulawesi people themselves," he told The Jakarta Post in a recent
interview.

"The government has pledged accelerated development in eastern
Indonesia and South Sulawesi will become its gateway. We have to
prepare our human and natural resources for that. A lost
opportunity won't reoccur."

He believes the South Sulawesi people have yet to make full
use of the opportunities presented to them by the government's
development plan for the region. "The Ujungpandang community and
the South Sulawesi population in general are not sufficiently
supportive of the government's wish to make (the province) the
gateway to eastern Indonesia.

"If an investor comes here to invest a large amount of capital
and he does not receive support from the community, he will
surely look to other regions.

"The mayor of Ujungpandang has no money. The governor has no
money either. Let alone me as a regional military commander. We
hope investors will come here with their money. But they need
support. Otherwise they will look elsewhere."

Agum cited that the Lippo Group planned in 1995 to build a
satellite city for Ujungpandang in Tanjung Bunga, Tanjung Merdeka
sub-district. The investors had hardly set foot in the province
when they were met with land acquisition problems which have yet
to be resolved.

"A person appeared claiming to be the owner, so the investors
paid him a sum of money. Others followed with similar claims and
also got paid. Their number increased until the investors got
tired," Agum explained. "We must create some order in this
situation."

He suggested that an integrated team, involving the Armed
Forces, non-governmental organizations and legal experts in land
acquisition, be established to solve the problems besetting the
Tanjung Bunga development project. "This is a megaproject that we
must make a success of."

Another example of the community's poor support for
development programs that Agum cited was the locals' reluctance
to provide foreigners, including investors, with entertainment.

"Those foreigners usually like entertainment in the evening,
such as going to nightclubs, for example," he said. The
predominately Moslem South Sulawesi people consider such centers
haram, or forbidden by Islam.

"Moslems don't have to go to the nightclubs," he said. "I'm a
Moslem myself and consider nightclubs and the alcoholic beverages
served in them haram. But I see them as a consequence of
development. Have you ever seen (me) in a nightclub?"

Agum has plenty of other criticism for the province, including
its garbage. Ujungpandang has received the Adipura Award for
cleanliness, but Agum still believes the city of 1.4 million
inhabitants manages its waste badly.

He is offering to help. "If necessary, my soldiers and I are
ready to help. Every one of the men in the Navy, the Army, the
Police Force, the Air Force. We have no other intention than to
give a better image of Ujungpandang as the gateway to the eastern
provinces of Indonesia," said the soccer-mad general.

In 1995, South Sulawesi's population stood at 7.7 million. Its
463,537 tons of exports, mainly coffee, cacao and ferronickel,
were worth US$638 million.

In the 1992 general election, Golkar won 3,410,910 votes, the
United Development Party won 293,697 votes and the Indonesian
Democratic Party 92,053.

What about the Armed Forces' readiness to safeguard the May
general election in South Sulawesi? "There is no doubt about it.
We are ready to safeguard it," Agum said briefly.

Principles

Agum, said to be among the Armed Forces' finest officers,
demands much from himself. He said he adhered to the principle
that he had to do his best no matter where he was stationed.

He believes that one of the missions of a regional military
commander is to help the community improve its welfare and
prosper economically and socially. "I have a strong desire to
participate in the development of the region where I am posted,"
he said.

It cannot be done by one person however, he said. It should be
a combined effort of the community, the provincial government and
the Armed Forces.

He knuckled down to his role in the task as soon as he assumed
his command in August last year. One of the first things he did
was to establish the nonprofit Wirabuana Foundation, which raises
funds to educate the children of army personnel who have died.

Agum speaks Chinese and English well. He is married to Linda
Amaliasari, a member of the House of Representatives, and has two
children. Born in Tasikmalaya, West Java, in 1945, Agum graduated
from the military academy in 1968 and was immediately posted to
be platoon chief at the Siliwangi military command.

His military career took off during 22 years in the Army's
special force from 1971 to 1993. Among the positions he held
during his assignment in the red-beret force were deputy chief of
Group Four (1985), deputy assistant and assistant dealing with
intelligence (1986 to 1988) and special forces chief (1992 to
1993).

Agum acknowledged that development is a process that sometimes
victimizes people and disregards their rights. "They are at times
outside the system that we believe will improve people's welfare
through development," he said. "We do not want development that
sacrifices the people."

Agum is considered a strict man. He deals firmly with soldiers
who are involved in crimes involving narcotics, gambling or
smuggling.

He also repeatedly told his soldiers in the Wirabuana military
command to help improve people's welfare. "We all should
cooperate in developing this province," he said.