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Jakarta Post

Bridging two countries through alumni association

When he is not tending to his garden on the weekends, Surat Indrijarso, the head of bureau for industry, trade and national resources at the cabinet secretariat, meets with his Korean alumni association

Tifa Asrianti (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, November 1, 2009

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Bridging two countries through alumni association

W

hen he is not tending to his garden on the weekends, Surat Indrijarso, the head of bureau for industry, trade and national resources at the cabinet secretariat, meets with his Korean alumni association.

"For me, an alumni gathering is a need. It serves just like a stress reliever. I can meet old friends and my mind is refreshed," he told The Jakarta Post during the Korea Alumni-Korean community friendship night.

Being the chairman of Ikatan Alumni KOICA Indonesia (KOICA Indonesia Alumni Association/IAKI), Surat organizes gatherings with the association's members.

"Sometimes we meet at a Korean restaurant. Other times we just hang out at Indonesian restaurants around South Jakarta's Blok M. The number of people attending the gatherings is normally around 20 people, because we usually notify members only two weeks beforehand," he said.

Such gatherings don't always take place in Jakarta, and IAKI also regularly organizes gatherings outside Jakarta. These are usually in the middle or at the end of the year. These meetings are aimed at building teamwork and getting members to know each other better, Surat says.

"We have to make activities that will interest people, pick places they have been pining to go to, and not burden them with fees. All in all, we should aim to give them good service. Leaders should serve the community," he said.

"I believe IAKI should play greater roles. IAKI is an alumni organization with huge potential, because its members are state officials from various ministries, departments and disciplines, and they all have had experiences in Korea."

His association organizes various activities, ranging from academic events such as conferences, symposiums and forums, to social activities such as mass circumcisions to bazaars and donating books to libraries. The activities usually take place outside the city, in places such as the Thousand Islands regency.

"Until now, scholarship recipients have been officials from the central government. When we told the local administration about the KOICA program, they were interested to get involved. We asked them what they wanted to study and told them to submit an application with KOICA. It turned out KOICA also welcomed their idea. They want their programs to be useful."

KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) was founded in 1991 as a Korean government agency providing bilateral grant aid and technical cooperation for developing countries.

Since the agency aims to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals, most of its programs focus on education and partnerships, such as developing human resources and capacity building. KOICA's assistance in Indonesia in 2005 reached US$9.3 million and increased to $17.6 million in 2006.

To obtain a KOICA scholarship, candidates should be recommended by an institution. Surat said each institution had different requirements for their candidates. Some institutions require candidates to work two years before giving them this opportunity.

"I would send people under 35 years because they are future leaders and still have many working years ahead of them. If future leaders have broad minds, Indonesia can develop faster," he said.

Established in 2002, IAKI now has 2600 members. Of that number, around 30 percent are focused in social welfare projects, 20 percent in agriculture and 10 percent engineering.

"KOICA has the alumni data. All we have to do is contact them. It is hard work. It's like social work. The problem does not only exist in IAKI but all alumni usually find it difficult to gather members. Most members have their own activities and are not interested to come to meetings. The gatherings are free of charge, and we usually provide snacks," Surat said.

When he took the IAKI chairmanship in 2007, Surat aimed to build teamwork among the organization's members so it could provide input to KOICA.

"I have tried to make a re-entry program. Alumni should make suggestions to KOICA, or their institutions, as to whether the programs they took in Korea were applicable in Indonesia, so that in future, we can get programs we really need," Surat said.

"Even if we get a scholarship, what good does this do if we cannot use it contribute to the country? It's a big chance to study in Korea. Perhaps the engineering is good, but if it's not applicable in Indonesia, then it's a waste of time. Every department should know their needs and deliver them to KOICA."

Surat attended a two-week training program on nuclear power plants in July 2007. At that time, Indonesia was planning to build a nuclear power station in Mount Muria in Central Java.

The short course was an initiative proposed by Batan (the National Atomic Energy Agency) to KOICA. Batan later appointed Surat to attend because he had a background in oil and gas petroleum engineering and had graduated from Salford University, in Manchester, UK.

The group traveling with Surat to Korea included officials from Bappenas (the National Development Planning Agency), the House of Representatives, the Foreign Ministry and the Technology and Research Ministry.

"We wanted to see the technology applied in their nuclear power plant. It is rare to find countries using nuclear technology in this region," Surat said.

From the visit, he learned how much Korea concern on the power plant sector and how Korea runs their plants for 10 years. The group visited the nuclear plants, the scientists and the communities living around the plants.

"We often associate nuclear plants with radiation. On the contrary, it is safe because PLTN really pays attention to the whole process, including the waste process. Hospital waste is more dangerous," he said.

Unfortunately, Indonesia has yet to build the nuclear plant because there have been demonstrations against the construction. However, Surat added, in the future, Indonesia should switch from fuel-based energy to nuclear-based in order to save budget.

"I was impressed with the ability of Korea in adopting and applying technology. They do not simply copy the technology but also committed to develop it. They are a hardworking nation. There is turbine and compressor industry that can reach the same level as GE in just six years. Perhaps it is because they don't have many natural resources so that they develop their human resources in order to survive," he said.

Another benefit of KOICA program, he adds, is the close relationship between the two countries. He hopes that Koreans can feel comfortable and invest more in Indonesia.

Since the establishment of bilateral cooperation in the 1970s, Indonesia and Korea have strengthened the cooperation in various fields. Nowadays, Indonesia is the 10th largest trade partner in Korea, while Korea is the sixth largest in Indonesia.

The Korean society composes the largest the largest foreign community in Indonesia with the number of people reaching approximately 31,500 and over 1,200 companies, while the number of Indonesian people living in Korea reaches around 25,000.

Surat said that IAKI taught Korea culture to colleagues who would go there. Since Indonesia is also sending skilled migrant workers to Korea's manufacture industry, the association also makes sure the workers have sufficient knowledge about Korea, such as the language and the culture.

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