Remembering Juwono Sudarsono

Juwono truly embodied the wisdom of the rice stalk to the marrow of his bones: the more he knew, the more humble he became, and the less he underestimated anyone in conversation.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - “This world has two realms: the world of image and the world of reality.”

This statement came from Juwono Sudarsono, who had just passed away on 28 March 2026, during an interview with ANTARA around the end of 2000.

The interview itself was conducted for the purpose of compiling a book of views from prominent figures on national politics at that time.

“There’s a lot of money in that, right?” Juwono said jokingly to ANTARA, after learning the purpose of the interview, which took place at the cafeteria of the Hilton Hotel in the Senayan area, Jakarta.

ANTARA could only grin at his joke, unable to say anything.

During the interview, ANTARA asked him about defence consulting services, actually just to lighten the mood and build rapport with him.

Pretending to be knowledgeable, armed with expert analyses and references that ANTARA had gathered from various sources, ANTARA questioned Juwono about the defence consulting business.

The Doctor of International Relations, already widely known as a defence expert long before becoming Minister of Defence, listened seriously to what ANTARA said.

But with humility, he replied, “Wow, I’m just learning about that now.”

Even though ANTARA was certain he already knew everything ANTARA mentioned, because what ANTARA conveyed was mere common sense.

ANTARA could only conclude that this was one piece of evidence of the humility of an intellectual who was indeed widely known for his “padi” knowledge.