SBY Launches Novel ‘Diana Memang Manja’
Indonesia’s sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), has launched a novel entitled ‘Diana Memang Manja’. At the launch, held at his residence in Cikeas on Thursday (29 October), he invited readers into a story rooted in experiences familiar to many: love, loss, preserving memories and gradually finding the courage to move forward.
“Although she is gone, I have never forgotten her,” SBY said, speaking about his late wife, Ani Yudhoyono, according to a statement issued on Friday (30 October).
SBY said Ani Yudhoyono’s death on 1 June 2019 marked a turning point that led him to return to the arts. Amid his grief, he sought activities that could help him recover emotionally.
At the launch, SBY shared how the creative process brought together personal experience, imagination and reflections on love and loss. Through the story, he said, he wanted readers to understand that carrying on with life can go hand in hand with preserving the memory of someone they love.
“I am not a soldier or politician who has become an artist. But art was part of my past. The right phrase is ‘the return of the lost artist’ — the return of an artist after wandering everywhere,” he said.
According to SBY, his interest in writing dates back to primary school. He said writing a novel was a continuation of a passion that had long been part of his life.
SBY said the novel gave him the freedom to shape a plot, create characters with varied personalities, and bring reality together with imagination. In ‘Diana Memang Manja’, he uses that freedom to weave a romance with mystery and the emotional struggles of human life.
SBY acknowledged that some of the feelings he experienced after losing Ani informed the writing process. “I poured some of what I felt years ago into the novel. But I am stronger now. I have moved on,” he said.
He explained that he also developed the novel’s imaginative elements through research and careful consideration. He wanted the story to have a plausible foundation while leaving room for mystery and the wonders of life.
The creative process continued to evolve as he wrote. New ideas emerged from the planned plot, enriching the story and deepening the relationships between its characters.