TIFATUL SEMBIRING EXPLAINS: IT WAS ALL BLACK MAGIC

The Ministerial non handshake: An explanation

Good morning to all men, whether you are of the one true faith or a vile unbeliever destined to burn in hell unless you rapidly convert. Which reminds me, I must plan legislation to assist in this regard.

As your Disinformation Minister I have a responsibility to keep you informed of current events. So I’ve asked my ghost writer to explain the situation as if I’d written it myself - had I not been so busy being pious:

Now I want to make sure you understand the real facts regarding a certain happening featuring a guest to our beloved nation, the center of tolerance in a troubled world.

Let me say this: There have been many wicked lies spread about the reception by sinister forces opposed to the Unitary State, like You Tube.

So let me be absolutely clear; I did not shake hands with a non-man who is not my relative.

As you know, I am deeply pious, so here’s the unvarnished truth. As a very important person in Indonesia I was of course invited to meet another important man.

I did not expect this person to bring a non-male with him, so was caught by surprise. In fact when I saw what had happened I was deeply disgusted. Blatant pornoaksi! Politics and leadership is men’s business. All other people must stay in the kitchen and bedroom.

I will speak to the security guards and make sure they are disciplined for this serious breach of protocol.

When I shook hands with this tall black man I could not control my responses. His grip was firm and irresistible. I recognised him to be a true Muslim because he whispered Assalamu Alai’kum to me - though out of earshot from the Fox News reporter with the US press corps.

I tried to give him a brown envelope containing my nephew’s application for a scholarship at Yale along with a modest gift, but it was rudely snatched away by one of his aides.

As God is my witness I swear that he used black magic, for I could not stop my hand jerking forward once he had moved on. “Yes we can,” he said – and cast a spell. So I was forced against my will to have my hand grasped by this, this … non-male person.

Fortunately as a pious man I was able to resist lingering with the slightly moist palm, the sweet and slender fingers, the genuine warmth that exuded from every pore, the cool gaze from liquid brown welcoming eyes, the scent… That’s enough. I’m not a man to be tempted.

As a true believer I immediately left the room for the nearest toilet so I could scrub the offending body part at least seven times. However I was distracted by one of my assistants.

“Pak,” he whispered, “they’re about to serve lunch.”

What a dilemma! How should a responsible minister of the Republic respond when the dignity of the nation is at stake? Steak, actually, imported Angus and delicious, but be assured I did wash at the earliest opportunity after the six-course banquet followed by some excellent Australian wine.

You understand I had to sample this forbidden beverage in the name of research. I’m a man who needs to know about haram products so I can speak with authority when I warn the faithful of the effects.

While representing you at this function and feeling deeply concerned about the poor of our beloved nation who don’t have enough to eat, my staff were busy checking the records.

Do you know what they found? This leader of the Great Satanic nation is actually one of my relatives! Records kept when he was studying at a Pesantren (as all Indonesians should – and I think I’ll make this compulsory very soon) show his third cousin on his uncle’s brother’s side is also my cousin through my grandfather’s stepbrother’s fourth son.

This means that the non-man who accompanied the visitor is also a relative. That makes it OK for me to make body contact with the American’s companion.

So my actions were halal, God be thanked! Not that I touched the non-man willingly. As I said earlier it was black magic.

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MANDARINS MUST EXPAND THEIR ASIAN HORIZONS

(Picture above: Students from the Al Azhar school in Jakarta performing at the Southeast Asian Night Market on Wellington's waterfront in March 2010. The 2011 market will be held on the Wellington waterfront on Saturday 16 April.)

Learning about our Muslim neighbour

I hope the blinkered public service mandarins note your editorial (1 November) about engaging with a changing world. They need to expand their vision beyond China and India for trade, schooling, immigration and influence in Asia.

So far they’ve been overlooking a closer market of enormous political and strategic importance.

Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy with more Muslims than any other nation. It’s our nearest Asian neighbour, our second biggest market in Southeast Asia. Trade between us is worth almost $1.5 billion a year and growing. Most is in our favour. .

We’re frequently first in line giving aid following natural disasters, like SurfAid assisting with the current Mentawai Islands tsunami response. We’ve been closely involved in advising on earthquake damage mitigation and geothermal energy.

About 25 years ago the late Colin McLennan established a unique rehabilitation unit for disabled children in Yogyakarta. This Wellingtonian’s vision has now expanded to Bali and Nias.

Yet few seem to recognise the opportunities in what Trade and Enterprise calls a “relationship-driven market.” Earlier this year Amris Hassan, the outgoing Indonesian ambassador to NZ, commented in The Jakarta Post that many businesses were failing to seize the openings created through visits by leaders of both countries.

“NZ must capture the opportunities in education. Indonesian students seeking to study abroad provide a big market,” he wrote.
“NZ schools and universities say they want overseas students but to be frank they’re not doing enough to attract Indonesians … there are 20,000 Indonesians studying in Australia. That figure is 50 times larger than the number of Indonesians in NZ schools and universities.“
The NZ Embassy in Jakarta responded with a report underpinning Mr Hassan’s comments. It added that a better relationship in education should provide a direct economic benefit and “form a pillar in a stronger political relationship.”
Worthwhile words, but they’ve stimulated little movement in Wellington ministries. There’s still no government-to- government protocol for education.
It’s the same with tourism. Minimal effort is being put into promoting our attractions in Indonesia, a country of 240 million with a rapidly expanding and cashed-up middle class.
The faults aren’t one-sided. Live cattle sales to Indonesia have hit a gateless fence. A Free Trade Agreement with Indonesia hasn’t been finalised so young people can’t apply for NZ working holiday visas – and vice versa.
Sad because our image in Asia isn’t just clean and green – it’s also safe and welcoming, while Indonesia is a magic, friendly land for our youth to explore and learn about moderate Islam.
This absence of students and visitors means we live in the shadow of Australia while Kiwis only see the Archipelago from 10,000 metres as they fly to Europe for their OE.
Indonesia’s march to democracy is stunning. It has a large economy that will only grow bigger, and it has the power to be more than competitive with China.
We understand Prime Minister John Key plans to visit Indonesia early next year. That’s good news. However if the doors he opens aren’t used by NZ entrepreneurs and departmental heads prepared to include Indonesia in their Asian vision then he’s wasting his time.

(First published in The Dominion Post 4 November 2010)

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THE SUMATRA TSUNAMI - WHY WASN'T INDONESIA READY?

Why wasn’t Indonesia better prepared for the tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands?

It’s not as though the 7.5 scale earthquake and three-metre wave came as a total surprise. The west coast of Sumatra has long been known as one of the world’s most unstable zones where the tectonic plates kilometres below the earth slip and slide creating chaos on the surface. It was hit badly in 2004 and again in 2005.

With this experience it’s extraordinary that the Indonesian government hadn’t got a system in place ready to cope with tragedy.

Yes, the islands are remote. That’s not an excuse – they’ve always been remote.

Yes, the villages are poor and don’t have infrastructure like airports and emergency centres. Why not? Quite simply, power has long been centralised in Jakarta; as the kilometres from the capital increase, so the cash available for public services shrinks.

The nation’s administration was decentralised following the fall of military dictator Soeharto in 1998. However in reality few provinces have had the courage or ability to run their regions without support or approval from the capital.

The other excuse for the bloated and malfunctioning bureaucracy has been the mantra that Indonesia is a poor and developing nation. Both claims are rubbish. The country is rich in minerals, oil and gas but the wealth has not been distributed evenly. Much has been plundered for personal gain by officials and Soeharto cronies.

Indonesia ranks 111 on Transparency International’s list of corrupt countries, alongside Egypt. NZ is ranked top, along with Singapore and Denmark, as the least corrupt.

The government collects only a third of the taxes it’s legally entitled to gather. This year Gayus Tambunan, a low-ranking tax official, was found to have amassed more than US$3 million from bribes.

The rot continues in the Parliament. This year it planned to deal with 80 pieces of legislation, but has addressed only seven.

Indonesia’s Constitution includes the Pancasila (five principles) philosophy. Number Five upholds social justice for all Indonesians. It does not state these rights are just for city folk.

When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the tsunami site he questioned why people had been living in low-lying areas, though they’ve been there for generations. Planning regulations could have prohibited surfline settlement – but rules are easy to by-pass.

After the 2004 tsunami aid from Germany was used to install early warning systems. Sadly many have been dismantled for their saleable parts by fishermen, or have fallen into disrepair.

This has been known for some time, but never fixed.

New Zealand was the first outside country to offer aid to the people of the Mentawai Islands whose homes and families had been destroyed by the tsunami.

The early reports came from Westerners working with Surfaid – an international NGO established by Kiwi Dr Dave Jenkins. Back in 1999 he’d been working in Singapore and took a trip to the Mentawai for a surfing holiday.

He was shocked at the contrast between life on his luxury yacht and the sick and poor villagers who were suffering and dying from preventable diseases, like malaria.

He decided to do something and in the past 11 years has helped raise millions to help improve the health of the islanders. The Indonesian government has now appointed Surfaid as the lead NGO handling the emergency

I’ve just come back from Nias Island, just to the north of the Mentawai where I’ve seen the results of the 2004 tsunami and the 2005 earthquake.

After these events the government, supported by aid from overseas worked to rehabilitate the island. The bill was US$ 1 billion.

The repairs have been piecemeal. The main north-south road is in good condition but the roads inland are like NZ’s rocky riverbeds, and almost impassable.

An ambulance I was travelling in as a passenger, not a patient, was unable to reach homes on the outskirts of Gunungsitoli – the provincial capital that sits on the coast and is vulnerable to any tsunami.

Many homes have still not been repaired, though the administration has built a splendid set of offices on a hill, safe from big waves.

In the meantime money from overseas is being used to teach the public – particularly children – about ways they can prepare for natural disasters and what they should do when the earth shakes and the tides rush in.

The agency doing this job is not the government but a unit of Yakkum, an NGO based in Yogyakarta and originally set up by a New Zealand community worker, the late Colin McLennan.

Like Dr Dave Jenkins he was shocked at the sight of sick and poor people who were not being given proper care by the government.

He helped raise millions of dollars and Yakkum, which now operates in Bali, Central Java and Nias, helps thousands of handicapped people recover their lives and become useful members of society.

Indonesians are grateful – but are starting to ask why such responsibilities aren’t handled by the Indonesian government, caring for its own citizens..

(First published in Scoop (NZ) 1 November 2010 and On Line Opinion (Aust) 16 Nov.)
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WAYAN GDE YUDANE

A Man for all Cultures Duncan Graham

A prophet is not without honor – except in his own country and among his own kin.

Apart from being a Biblical text it could be the epitaph for Balinese composer Wayan Gde Yudane who finds his work better appreciated outside the Archipelago.

“To be honest, I’m not very popular in Indonesia,” he said in the New Zealand capital, Wellington while shuddering with a pneumatic-drill toothache.

“That’s why I like to live here. People enjoy my music and they respect me as a composer, though I’ve also had to wash dishes in a restaurant to make ends meet. I’ll have to get my tooth fixed in Indonesia. Dentists in NZ are so expensive.

“Despite these problems I can hear my music played here. I don’t know that I can do so in my homeland. The people there just listen to pop. In Wellington I offered to teach gamelan free. No Indonesians took up the chance – only Kiwis.

“I wrote the music for the NZ Trio when it performed in Jakarta. (In 2007) They play the best chamber music in the country, but when I went to the hotel they (staff) treated me like rubbish. Indonesians can be racist towards other Indonesians.”

The lean and lank Yudane wears the uniform of the Indonesian artist – black shapeless clothes, long hair, bearded wildman looks and benign countenance. His detached demeanor is at odds with intense feelings about his craft.

Though to call him an artis is to corrupt his creativity. The word, hijacked from English and since corrupted, has lost its quality of compliment. It’s been devalued by tabloid overuse, particularly when describing sinetron mayflies.

The 46-year old musician is no temporary talent or cultural monoglot. The son of an architect who made gamelan instruments, Yudane started his career, primarily as a sound and scenic designer in theater. That was after studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Denpasar, graduating in 1991.

At that time gamelan music was everywhere. “I was surrounded by it – my family, my neighbors, my friends,” he said. “It wasn’t something separate. I was encouraged to become a musician.”

One of his earliest jobs was in Japan, at the Kumamoto Performing Arts Festival. He designed sets for the Singapore Arts Festival, then got a scholarship to study and work in France with the Le Temps Fort theatre company.

Yudane is now well known overseas, particularly in Australasia and Europe, as a contemporary composer experimenting in fusing the gamelan with Western music and instruments.

In Australia he won The Age newspaper’s Critics Award for Creative Excellence for his work with the Adelaide Festival. He also scored strong reviews for his “dramatic and technically ferocious” work Paradise Regained dedicated to the Bali bomb victims.

For the past six months he’s been working as artist-in-residence at the NZ School of Music. It’s not the first time he’s been in the South Pacific nation. He held a similar position eight years ago at Victoria University and is married to a Kiwi teacher.

Yudane’s farewell concert, titled Musical Hunters and Collectors (“I’m both) included Temporal Paradox, which involved a violin and a viola along with the gamelan, and the self-explanatory Causality for Piano.

Apart from his own compositions there were works by Wayan Lotring and Wayan Beratha.

Lotring, who died in 1983, is considered to be the most famous gamelan composer of the 20th century. He was responsible for a revision of Balinese compositions back in the 1920s; Yudane attributes this to the influence of the Dutch who brought Western music to the Archipelago.

Beratha, who is now 86, is credited with pioneering the gong kebyar style of gamelan, with lots of sudden clashing and mood shifts.

“I don’t know how to best describe gong kebyar,” Yudane said. Suggestions included fireworks, a metaphor he rejected because the image was too ephemeral. “Maybe like turning on a light switch – that’s better.

“I studied under Beratha – he’s my hero. But he won’t listen to my music – he doesn’t like it. He says it’s too Western, that it’s gone too far and is too individualistic.

“That’s OK. I’m a contemporary composer. The gamelan doesn’t just have to play traditional Indonesian music. I write what I like, though I want it to be listened to by everyone. My interests are eclectic. (The French composer) Debussy is my favorite.

“I tell students in Indonesia: ‘You must learn the tools. You must be able to write music. It’s OK in Indonesia to memorise, but you can’t do that overseas. You don’t need to go abroad but you must listen to music from everywhere.’”

Individualism: It’s the Indonesian curse (or quality) to be seen as different, strange, or maybe even dangerous if you stand apart from the crowd, like to walk alone and feel comfortable with your own company. No problems in the West, but a worry in the East.

“This is why so many follow pop kitsch (he spits out the words, as though he’s found a cockroach in his coffee) even though Indonesians claim to like gamelan,” he said.

“I don’t follow any trends, and I never will. Sometimes I feel that I’m not part of Indonesia.”


Wellington has two sets of gamelan, Balinese and Javanese, both played by performing arts students. Only one musician is Indonesian – Budi Putra, the cultural officer at the Indonesian Embassy.

Balinese gamelan music is quite different from Javanese, strident, energetic and declamatory. It’s also more disciplined than the enigmatic and subtle Javanese style.

By the time you read this Yudane will be back in Bali composing for film and theater. Then he’ll move to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, where he’s been before, and expects his work will get recognition and respect.

That doesn’t mean the man is vain or arrogant – he’s humble and polite, but hates the superficiality of pop with a loathing others reserve for snakes in the toilet - along with the public’s indifference to Indonesian music.

“My message to other composers is this: ‘Please don’t just listen to what you like. Widen your interests. Every single day new music is being made in the world. Make sure your work is interesting and exciting. Don’t go with the flow’.”

(First published in The Jakarta Post 27 October 2010)


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AGUS SRIYONO - NEW MAN DOWN UNDER

Making 1,000 friends – and zero enemies

Shortly after arriving in Wellington the new Indonesian ambassador to New Zealand, Antonius Agus Sriyono was introduced to a senior public servant.

“Just call me Tony,” said the casual Kiwi. Fortunately the newcomer had researched his posting well. He’d read about egalitarianism Down Under so wasn’t too nonplussed.

“I’d discovered this culture of informality grew out of the first settlements (in the early 19th century) when immigrants had to build their own houses and do everything themselves whatever job they’d had in their home country,” he said.

“This was the first time I’d encountered such familiarity in my 26 years as a diplomat. Usually it’s deferential, ‘sir’ or ‘excellency’. As a Javanese I know all about protocols. But I replied: ‘OK, just call me Agus’.”

This anecdote might give the impression that the Archipelago’s new man in the South Pacific (his responsibilities include Samoa and Tonga) is so laid back and adaptable that his Embassy is a retirement waiting lounge for burnt-out bureaucrats.

When he got the job his colleagues in Jakarta congratulated Agus on being appointed to a position where the occupations would be golf, fishing and sleeping.

He’s relaxed – but that’s not a synonym for slack. “I play a little golf but only at weekends,” he said.

“I don’t fish and I’m happy with six hours sleep. Everyone has to be here by 9 am and many are still working at night.”

As darkness doesn’t come till after 9 pm during summer and Jakarta is six hours behind Wellington, recreation time for staff is going to be in short supply if the 15th ambassador to NZ maintains the pace.

His priorities are getting more Indonesian workers into NZ (tough because language levels must be high and jobs scarce), more post-graduate students into NZ universities (difficult because Australia’s the favored destination) – and the top issue, improving trade.

In this task he faces several hurdles: Indonesia imports almost NZ$ 900 million (US $680 million) worth of goods from NZ, mostly primary produce. But the reverse trade, mainly petroleum and paper, is worth only NZ$ 570 million (US $430).

NZ is the international leader in dairy farming and grassland management. Agus said he was keen to get these skills into Indonesia to boost local supplies as the population consumes more milk – as opposed to milk powder. He’s initiating talks with Fonterra, the dairy cooperative that buys and processes most milk in NZ, to encourage investment in the Republic.

The second is that many business heavyweights in Indonesia think the NZ market with only 4.25 million people is too small to warrant their attention. Agus counters that although consumers are few they’ve got full wallets.

Then there’s the Free Trade Agreement between NZ and Indonesia, which has not been completely signed off despite being approved almost two years ago. The problem, according to Agus, is that Indonesia still subsidises some forms of agriculture while NZ farming is free of government support.

Also caught up in the FTA dispute is the working holiday scheme, which would allow young people to spend a year in each other’s countries earning, touring and hopefully developing understanding of other cultures.

The scheme already operates between NZ and Malaysia, Singapore and China, along with many European countries.

“Smart but poor people who would benefit from using these visas don’t have the money for air fares to go abroad,” Agus said. “We’ve got to find a way to get around this difficulty. I don’t want to see only the rich get such opportunities.”

If there have been any hiccups in Agus’s career they get swiftly swallowed. He was born in Magelang, Central Java in 1957 where his parents were teachers keen for their talented lad to join them at the chalkboard.

But Agus had other ideas. He’d always been a leader, even in school. He went to Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta graduating in international relations. After three years working in public relations for the property development company Ciputra Group he joined Foreign Affairs in 1984. Donning the dark suit and entering the high priesthood of diplomacy fulfilled a long held ambition to master the refined arts of subtle statespeak.

“I’d always been interested in history,” he said, “I don’t know why – maybe it’s in my genes. I have about 3,000 books in my library. Many are about leadership.

“I tell my staff they must learn to lead, to communicate effectively and clearly in speech and writing. They must mingle with the local people. They must have 1,000 friends – and no enemies. They must separate the personal from the professional.”

He’s had one book published – a text on international relations – and is now a third of the way through writing a book on the Cold War. Apart from English his language skills include Dutch (his first posting was in The Hague and his parents spoke Dutch), French, Portuguese and some Russian.

Agus’s last post before Wellington was Moscow where he was deputy chief of mission for two years. With his wife Astuti Retno Widiati Sriyono he has three children. One son is a diplomat in Australia, another a journalist with Tempo magazine in Jakarta and a daughter at school in NZ.

“I am conscious that Indonesia ranks 111 on the International Corruption Index and that NZ is the least corrupt country in the world,” he said. “I have zero tolerance of corruption and that applies to myself.

“One must have integrity. I learned that from my parents, and it was reinforced by the late Ali Alatas (foreign minister under the Soeharto regime). I worked for him as a private assistant. He was my hero.”

But successful diplomacy requires compromise. Doesn’t that cause difficulties?

“No problem, I’m a Javanese. I’m lucky – I come from the majority ethnic group and the minority religion. (He’s Catholic.)

“All diplomatic actions should be based on inter-cultural understanding of other countries and their history. I’m committed to fixing problems. What I preach is what I do and I try to do my best. I want to be a good listener. (He is.) Every night I pray: ‘God, I put myself in your hands’.

“There have been ups and downs but I’ve never regretted my career choice. Emotionally, rationally and professionally it’s a most satisfying job and I don’t expect this to be my last posting.”

(First published in The Jakarta Post 25 October 2010)

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A FATWA ON MOTORBIKES

A new solution to traffic jams

Traffic jams are expected to vanish throughout Indonesia once a new edict by a leading agency takes effect.

The surprise fatwa from the MUI (Motorcyclists’ Union of Indonesia) was announced just before mudik, the annual pilgrimage to hometown and parents undertaken by many Indonesians at the end of the slowing month.

MUI secretary Bangbang Twostroke said the fatwa prohibited the use of cars, which were now haram.

Although it was difficult to impose a fatwa on those groups that didn’t follow MUI’s teachings, it was expected that most would accept the ruling to avoid drawing attention to themselves and creating unnecessary conflict.

The roads would be far less congested once the fatwa was in place and all four-wheel vehicles were either locked up or deported. He added that two-wheel transport goes back centuries so reverting to the past would create a purer nation.

“You can’t hide on a motorbike,” Bangbang said. “Everyone can see what you’re up to. Behind the tinted windows of cars all sorts of immorality can take place.

“The MUI has long been concerned about the rise in popularity of other means of transport.

“We’ve had to accept the government’s five-brand policy, but there have been issues in some regions that have disturbed local communities.

“Allegations have been made of moves to Toyotarise Indonesians. I’ve even heard of preman (thugs) with Manado accents trying to Nissanise locals with promises of high trade-ins and cashbacks.

“The Mercedes trinity star is known to have other meanings. Those of us who believe in only one brand find the symbol offensive.”

The police have been instructed not to tolerate attempted conversions from two to four wheels by outside forces with other agendas.

FP1 (Friendly People of Indonesia) squads were ready to assist the police and ensure the fatwa was obeyed. Mr Bangbang rejected reports that FPI members had already started trashing cars as ‘baseless accusations from dark forces planning to overthrow the Unitary State’.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Agama (Automobile, Gasoline and Mechanical Appliances) said no comment would be made on the MUI’s fatwa, though the minister welcomed any moves to restrict the number of road users, particularly those who didn’t follow the number one brand.

“In the past we’ve been tolerant of deviants like Suzuki and Yamaha, but it’s now time to disband them,” he said.

“The Minister realises this is a controversial move. It may be in breach of the Constitution, which allows citizens freedom to ride the brand of their choice. But no matter. Our founding fathers did not appreciate the threats now coming from outside. Public order must be maintained.”

During the slowing month, when petrol tanks may only be filled between dusk and dawn, reports of surly young men in gangs hanging around foodstalls at nightfall astride motorcycles have been causing concern among supporters of cars.

Last month it was claimed motorcycle numbers in Indonesia would double by 2015. Last year 6.5 million pedestrians converted to motorbikes, the majority choosing to follow Honda. For every car that rolls onto the road, five motorbikes take to the streets.

Mr Bangbang said it was clear the infrastructure could not cope. There just wasn’t enough room on public roads, so some users have to go. It was right and proper that those evicted from the highways should be the rich driving foreign cars and taking up too much space.

If action wasn’t taken now Jakarta could suffer a stroke as its traffic arteries became clogged by the cholesterol of unconstrained private transport.

“The reality is that this is a Honda nation,” he said. “Those who want to follow other forms of transport should move to North Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara or Bali where different brands are tolerated.

“However the transmigration of motorbikes from the overcrowded roads of Java to the quiet tracks of Central Kalimantan and elsewhere will continue. This means that the majorities in those regions may soon become the minorities.

“The alternative if for dissidents to embrace two-wheels with fervor if they want to remain citizens. This is a move that can only enhance democracy by ensuring that all Indonesians follow only one way.”

(First published in The Sunday Post 3 October 2010)

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DARYUSTI'S DANCING DELIGHT

Raising triple threat performers

Noel Coward’s advice to Mrs Worthington to keep her daughter off the stage could have been written for Daryusti.

Like the famous English performer and composer Daryusti is multi-talented, a dancer, choreographer and academic – head of the Padangpanjang Institute of Arts in West Sumatra. He’s also the father of three girls.

“One is a chemist, another a doctor and the third is still studying,” he said. “I didn’t push them to go on the stage, though that’s what my father did to me. I know just how tough it can be.”

Daryusti’s father, a teacher and amateur drummer, urged his talented son to study the arts – which he did in Yogyakarta to get a master’s degree. Dad also sold food to help young Daryusti get a formal education along with qualifications from the university of hard knocks.

Those who think the entertainment industry as a life of non-stop glamor punctuated by air kissing get gored by reality when they seek enrolment at the Padangpanjang institute. Half the candidates don’t get beyond the doors of the stylish Minangkabau building with its multi-peak roof because they don’t make the grade.

At the moment 1,800 have gained entry to a multiplicity of courses in seven faculties covering most art forms, but they do need to watch their step. Failure to match the high standards required can rapidly lead to a dash for the exit, said Daryusti.

“We insist on students being disciplined,” he said in New Zealand while leading a cultural group called Sumatran Sounds. “None of our graduates are jobless because their quality is so high. We attract students from all parts of the Archipelago and most are women.

“That’s not surprising because Minangkabau culture is matrilineal. In West Sumatra children are close to their mothers – in Java they’re close to their fathers. Women are dominant in many areas including land and property ownership. Our fees aren’t high – Rp 600,000 (US $66) a semester for locals – and we have 22 overseas students.

“Applicants must also show creativity, talent, devotion to the arts and demonstrate a strong willingness to learn. Their flexibility and ability to improvise are also taken into consideration.”

Kiwi ethnomusicologist Dr Megan Collins who spent two years studying in Sumatra said the Institute was equal to prestigious arts institutions in Yogyakarta and Solo.

“It’s successful because it’s supported by the local communities as well as the national government,” she said. “It’s helping keep the arts in Sumatra alive.”

Some of these arts were on display during a week of workshops and performances in the NZ capital Wellington.

The visit of the 15 performers and four officials led by Daryusti was funded by the Indonesian Department of Education and the Indonesian Embassy in NZ.

Sadly the tour was not well publicised so few got the chance to see some spectacular and polished presentations that drew standing ovations from those lucky enough to attend two public performances.

These featured traditional Sumatran dancing and music, along with contemporary items featuring new instruments, and works exploring the fusion of European, Maori and Indonesian art. The artists were not afraid to adapt and alter, modify and contract to suit foreign audiences.

It’s not the first time the Institute has sent performers overseas. “We’ve been to Holland, Germany, Australia and the US,” said Daryusti. “We need to experience other cultures and draw on what we see and hear.

“We’re in Wellington because the previous ambassador Amris Hassan knew of Dr Collins’ studies in Sumatra and her role in the NZ School of Music which has a gamelan orchestra. ”

On the Wellington program that included “serious and challenging artistic material aimed at artists and university students” was a dynamic item called Tari Rundo (night watchman’s dance). This was choreographed by Daryusti and based on the neighborhood security system used in Indonesian villages.

Deftly using torches and sarong the male and female dancers moved with the elegance normally seen in traditional Western ballet, through to the energy found in boisterous Broadway musicals. The result was a robust piece that also owed much to contemporary Chinese theatre, as its creator acknowledged.

“Dance has to be created out of knowledge,” Daryusti said. “After observing, I write then deliver my ideas to the cast.

“When I’m directing dancers at first I tend to be authoritarian. If a doctor can’t cure his or her patients they can’t stay in medicine. It’s the same with the arts – do it right, get it right or quit. Dancers need to be fit and strong.

“However as the work develops I allow more ideas to come from the performers. I start as a dictator – but end as a democrat.”

More traditional works included the piring (plate) dance representing seasonal changes. The performers hold dishes in their palms only using centrifugal force to keep the crockery in place as they twirl, leap, dash and roll. It’s a dazzling piece demonstrating the performers’ dexterity – not a dance to try in the kitchen.

Randai is folk theatre that features much loud pounding of baggy pantaloons. It’s a rugged athletic work with elements similar to the Russian kalinka dancing.

Many pieces in the Sumatra Sounds repertoire require the cast to be ‘triple threats’ – the most feared and admired of stage performers able to sing, dance and act.

Daryusti is a small, dapper man with a penchant for flamboyant multi-colored ethnic jackets matched – or mismatched -with Western clothes. This makes him look nothing like the standard senior academic in bureaucratic black.

At 49 he still occasionally dances, but said his time was now taken up moving between board meetings, leaving little opportunity to star on the boards. It took four months of rehearsals to perfect Tari Rundo. His last public performance was in Melbourne in 2009.

“We like to tour overseas so people can learn more about Indonesian culture and visit our country,” he said. “Sumatran culture is seldom promoted, unlike music and dance from Java and Bali.

“This creates a misconception that Indonesian culture is only found in particular areas when in fact our unique cultures are spread throughout the Archipelago. We should love Indonesian culture, it is so diverse and every region has its own special characteristics.”

(First published in The Jakarta Post 29 Sept 2010)

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