Tobing, survives with consistency

Tobing, survives with consistency

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many say the difference between a statesman and a politician
lies in how they treat life. The statesman defines it as a
breeze, whereas the politician just goes with the flow, while
sometimes fueling it into a hurricane.

Debatable as it may be, this simplified notion fits in
perfectly with how Indonesian politicians are crowding the
country's reform stage following the downfall of the 32-year
authoritarian regime of former president Soeharto.

One with apt political and leadership skills, such as Jakob
Samuel Halomoan Lumban Tobing, is rare, making the humble
legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) stand out from the rest.

Being a politician for almost 40 years is not the only reason
Jakob Tobing was entrusted to play a leading role in the People's
Consultative Assembly team in charge of amending the 1945
Constitution.

On top of this responsibility, he was elected chairman of
Commission A in the ongoing Annual Session of the Assembly, which
is tasked with finalizing the fourth draft of the amendment.

It is his faith in democracy that keeps his spirit aflame as a
politician. He began his political career as a student activist
in 1963. Thanks to his consistency, he remains an important
figure in the reform era.

Tobing made his way to the House of Representatives in 1968 at
the age of 25 as a representative of students.

He was a cofounder of Golongan Karya, a functional group which
served a political party and was used by Soeharto as his
political base.

Some Golkar functionaries, Tobing was one of them, became
disappointed when Soeharto changed his stance to an Islamic group
and accommodated the Association of Muslim Scholars (ICMI) in
Golkar.

Soeharto's change of stance allowed the Islamic group to
control Golkar, giving it the nickname ijo royo-royo (totally
green) -- the color associated with Muslim groups.

"We reformists within Golkar told Pak Harto we would go our
separate ways and would continue our reform agenda. He thanked us
for our criticism and said he hoped for cooperation. But his
cronies treated us like enemies of the state," Tobing recalled.

In 1993, Jakob bid farewell to Golkar, after rejecting
Soeharto's repeated offers for ministerial and ambassadorial
posts. Golkar, however, maintained his membership, as his close
friends staked the claim that "Golkar is Jakob, and Jakob is
Golkar".

He still befriended Golkar leaders while he kept his critical
stand. When Akbar Tandjung was elected Golkar chairman in 1998 he
wrote Tandjung, asking him to reform the party.

"It (quitting Golkar) was a difficult decision because I co-
founded it, but I had to do it because I saw Golkar going off the
tracks that founding fathers had laid down for it.

"Nobody knew the future of my career then, but I won't look
back because I am used to going through difficult times," said
the soft-spoken father of four. He is married to Adriana
Sihotang.

Along with big names such as Megawati Soekarnoputri, Frans
Seda, Abdurrahman Wahid, Kwik Kian Gie, Marzuki Darusman,
Widjanarko Puspojo and Bambang Prihantoro, Tobing formed the
National Brotherhood Foundation (YKPK) in 1995. The foundation
promotes a peaceful means of political struggle.

The violent internal rivalry within the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) led Tobing to come to terms with the party led by
Megawati. When military-backed rival party activists attacked
Megawati's party headquarters in Jakarta on July 27, 1996, YKPK
lent its support to her cause.

When the fall of Soeharto prompted a political euphoria marked
by the mushrooming of political parties, Megawati approached
Tobing and together rejuvenated and renamed her party PDI
Perjuangan.

Brought up in a devout Protestant family by his father
Heinrich Lumban Tobing and mother Ria Saur Hutagalung in
Kotabaru, Riau, on July 13, 1943, he spent most of his childhood
with eight siblings in the Riau islands and Bukittinggi, North
Sumatra.

After finishing high school in Bandung, he continued his
studies at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), majoring in
architecture engineering. He received his master's degree in
economic and political studies from Harvard University in the
United States in early 80s.

As the chairman of the Indonesian Election Committee, his
political foes accused him of rigging the 1999 elections in favor
of PDI Perjuangan. He is also alleged to have hampered the
constitutional amendment.

But Jacob maintains a cool composure.

"I refrain from saying any words or making gestures in my
defense that may offend others," he said, adding that he respects
differences in opinion as a part of democracy.

Tobing has a piece of advice for younger politicians: "Read a
lot of books, any topics on humanity and human relations with God
and balance it with a lot of chit-chats with others to broaden
your knowledge and sharpen your skills as well as building good
relationships".

"Now is the right time to learn to become a good politician
because we are in the process of making history in this reform
era," he said.

Even though he admires Indonesia's founding fathers Sukarno
and M. Hatta as well as U.S. presidents Abraham Lincoln and
Theodore Roosevelt, Tobing said he did not want to copy them.

"I keep enriching myself with knowledge and wisdom. With that,
I can be myself," Tobing said.