Indonesia Loses a Hero

Indonesia lost one of its heroes over the weekend. Bustanil Arifin, age 85, passed away on Sunday in Los Angeles after a bout with pneumonia. Arifin fought against the Dutch and Japanese in Indonesia's revolutionary army and later was one of the first diplomats assigned to NY in the government of President Suharto. In the early 70's as Consul General, Arifin worked closely with AICC members such as American Trade Sales, Inc., Continental Grain, and Connell Rice and Sugar, to provide wheat and rice to his country under the US PL 480 program at time when many were literally starving. Over the next 25 years as Chief of the National Logistics Agency (BULOG) and Minister of Cooperatives he filled Indonesia's rice bowl. His portfolio was simple: provide the essential food products that all Indonesians need at an affordable price. The “market operation” policies he developed and implemented stabilized food prices throughout the entire economic spectrum and were later studied by neighboring countries eager for a similar level of food security.

"Pak Bus" was one of the last surviving senior members of the generation that sheparded Indonesia through major transitions: from a Dutch colony to an independent republic; from a brush with anti-American communism to the pro-West New Order of President Suharto; from an impoverished people to one of the middle income Southeast Asia tigers.

Bustanil Arifin was a nation-builder whose life touched the lives of many Americans in business, government, and academia. Several AICC members worked closely with "Pak Bus" as well as his family on many business and education projects over the years. He will be sorely missed.

Born in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, on Oct. 10, 1925, Bustanil graduated from Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) in Medan in 1940, Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO), also in Medan, in 1942 and Zyoku Kan Gakkoo school for officials in Batusangkar, West Sumatra, in
1944. At 18, Bustanil hoped to become a soldier and joined a military training camp in Batusangkar,West Sumatra. His military assignments included covering Medan as a platoon commander under the Medan Special Regiment Batallion 3, North Sumatra.

After Indonesian Independence in 1945, Bustanil pursued his bachelor degree in law at Padjajaran University, Bandung. Before graduating in 1959, Bustanil met with R.A. Suhardani, a young Javanese girl who later became his wife. He is survived by his wife and four children.


In November 2011, Bustanil received a certificate of appreciation from AICC for his service to Indonesia and for his lifelong support for strong US-Indonesia relations.







(above: Bustanil Arifin with Joseph Harari, President of American Trade Sales, Inc.)

Who Is the Indonesian Consumer ?

During my November 2010 visit to Indonesia I spent time with Debnath Guharoy, of Roy Morgan Single Source. Debnath’s group tracks the opinions of a sample of 25,000 Indonesians from all walks of life and regions of the country. Its always fascinating to talk to people such as Debnath, who seem to have their pulse on the thinking of the average Indonesian, if one believes there is one ! For example, I learned that fewer Indonesians are using buses, 62% now own a cell phone but only 1% have insurance, a majority feel they are better off this year than last but trust in government is dropping, they are more health conscious and conservative in their outlook, but support for sharia law is dropping. Roy Morgan is a leading Australian market research firm whose clients include local and international banks and consumer brands. Knowing that Debnath is a ubiquitous contributor to Indonesian newspapers I asked AICC’s intern, Jon Rea, to compile a summary of these public columns published in The Jakarta Post. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wealth of information just in these casual columns. So, AICC is pleased to present them to you, not in their original narrative form but as a set of bullet points. They indicate a country increasingly driven by information technology and a consumer oriented marketplace. Demands for better quality products (including non Indonesian made ones) , better government, infrastructure are on the rise, presenting challenges and opportunities simultaneously.

And yes, surprisingly, less people are going to those new shopping malls that seem to pop up overnight; more are going to new convenience stores.

Click Here to read a list of bullet points on: consumer trends, political opinions, views of the economy, and basic demographics

Egypt and Indonesia

They both have at least one of the world’s 15 key strategic sea lanes, a pyramid-like monument recognized as a “wonder of the world”, and their region's largest population of Muslims. Now, they share the experience of a popular, broad-based reform movement that topples a long-standing regime. Although Indonesia’s 1998 reformasi germinated in a different soil, not as a reaction to another protest but in reaction to a severe economic downturn, the secular cries of collusion, corruption and nepotism are similar, coming as they are from students, workers, middle class housewives, and religious leaders. The Army plays the pivotal role and the less outside powers attempt to orchestrate change, the better the chance of a peaceful transition. With their own transition safely behind them Indonesia can rightly say that the protests will not spread to them. Indonesia’s State Secretary, Sudi Silalahi, said some might argue that the SBY-Boediono government is currently messy, but the fact shows that people are now prosperous. "They say SBY is disorganized. But it is a fact that people can buy millions of motorcycles every year. Prosperity is increasing.” Indonesia has few connections to Egypt outside of some regional and international forums and is unlikely to be able to offer much assistance or guidance other than its own example, if the Egyptians take notice. For Indonesia has stabilized nicely after its initial shaky period following the fall of Soeharto with social indicators and GDP rising and democracy deepening its roots. I personally hope Egypt can make its transition to democracy with less violence and economic pain that afflicted Indonesia 13 years when lootings, bombings and thousands of killings marred the transition that began peacefully in the streets of Jakarta.