'Twixt orangutans and puppets

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan

Each time he starts his leather puppet show in English, Ki Peter Karsono, always quote Shakespeare: "The world is but a stage and we are only players." Then, he will also quote from Nawaruci, an ancient leather puppet book: "We are but dolls and the puppet master controls our movements. The world is only a stage..."

Karsono, better known as Ki Peter Karsono as a puppet master, always quotes these words of wisdom in the introduction to his leather puppet shows. For expatriates living in East Kalimantan, Karsono is something like a Jack of all trades: a leather puppet master, an artist, a teacher at an international school and an activist and founder of the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation.

Peter Karsono is famous among expatriates in oil-rich East Kalimantan, particularly in Balikpapan International School circles. He used to be a teacher at Pasir Ridge International School in Balikpapan and frequently performs leather puppet shows in English and French. His reputation among the expatriates is attributable to his position as executive director of the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation.

For him, this prestigious position came to him because "The Puppet Master" wants him to be one.

"We are just like puppets. God has arranged everything for us and we simply have to lead our lives," he said when explaining why he always quoted Shakespeare and Nawaruci.

At first he got involved in rescuing orangutans in Kalimantan because he only wanted to lend a hand. It was in 1991 and he was still teaching at the international school in Balikpapan. He was assigned to organize school students to collect money for orangutan conservation. As he acquired more influence among the students and their parents, he was able to persuade the community of expatriates in Balikpapan to collect money and set up the Balikpapan Orangutan Society.

Together with others concerned about orangutans, Peter, who began teaching at the international school as far back as 1976, set up the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation. Since then, he has always been associated with the foundation.

"I got involved in orangutan conservation for fun but now I'm serious about it. Now I devote most of my time to this undertaking although I don't get paid at all. I wish I could find someone else to take care of the institution. Still, deep in my heart I'm rather reluctant as I'm afraid this position will go to an irresponsible person."

Karsono, who was born in 1940, said he was also afraid this position would go to a foreigner although he admitted that most of the donors were foreigners.

"I don't think we need a foreigner to take care of orangutans, which are part of Indonesia's natural wealth. My nationalism always gets the better of me. Although I have mixed with and teamed up with foreigners for many years, I cannot allow them to play a determining role in this regard."

Apart from a strong sense of nationalism, someone suitable for this executive position in this institution, which requires about Rp 14 billion annually for its operational expenses, must have great loyalty and be ready to work for the institution without compensation.

How does Karsono earn a living? "My pension from the international school is enough for a decent life in East Kalimantan. All my four children have now got their own jobs," he said. Apart from taking care of orangutans, he also gives courses on Javanese arts.

"On certain occasions, the expatriate community invites me to give them a course on the Javanese arts and knowledge. They are interested, for example, in how to make traditional play things for children, make decorations from young coconut leaves, prepare ritual equipment from banana leaves and perform leather puppet shows.

"Foreigners here are really interested in the Javanese arts. When I perform a leather puppet show, the gamelan is played by expatriates. They have set up the Unocal Gamelan Orchestra," said Karsono, who is a graduate of Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta.

Karsono, who used to be a domestic helper in an American family in Yogyakarta while he was still a student, said that although he was busy taking care of orangutan, he did not know much about the animal.

"I cannot distinguish one orangutan from another, let alone communicate with them like the orangutan caretakers do. Still, I'm greatly concerned over their wellbeing, their future and their supporting habitat."

What does Peter Karsono really want from his dedication to orangutans? "I often dream than when I die some day, orangutans with wings donning white garbs like angels will be waiting for me at the door to heaven. That will be the satisfaction I've been dreaming about."