After a full day of meetings with security and bank officials in the two cities, Djoko was able to confirm the reports as false to four Indonesian journalists who were in the capital at his invitation. He ascertained that Aulia had in fact been at his residence in Jakarta.

Clearly disappointed with the colleague who had released the false information to members of the media in Jakarta, Djoko was philosophical: “I am glad to seek clarification about any Indonesian citizens having any troubles in this country because it is part of our main task here.”

He admitted that the influx of Indonesians, including officials, to the small, wealthy country was relatively high because Switzerland was not only a popular tourist destination but was also the host of many major international events, being the home base of international agencies such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization.

“Many Indonesian officials come here but they must not bring dirty money and we do not identify or register any officials coming here. I am not a law enforcement officer but just an ambassador with the main tasks to enhance bilateral ties between the two countries and facilitate Indonesian citizens coming and staying here,” he said, adding that the embassy has registered about 2,000 Indonesians, mostly students, and 4,000 Indonesians who have naturalized after marrying Swiss nationals.

Late former president Soeharto, who was in power for more than 30 years, was thought to have kept stolen money in Swiss bank accounts. Despite constant efforts following his posting to Bern in October of 2010, Djoko has not uncovered any evidence of money laundering from Indonesia into the country.

“I know precisely what the [Indonesian] media is seeking when they come here, but I cannot go beyond my jurisdiction just to show my journalistic intuition and my personal commitment to the fight against corruption,” he told The Jakarta Post during an interview at his official residence in the city recently.

Djoko, born in Boyolali, Central Java, on June 6, 1961, was correspondent of the Surabaya-based Jawa Pos in Washington from 1988 until 1992 and its deputy chief editor from 1992 until 1994 before obtaining a legislative seat with the National Mandate Party (PAN) from 1994 to 2004.

In October of 2010, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Switzerland and accredited to the Principality of Liechtenstein. Djoko is married to Firda, a 2009 PAN legislative candidate, and they have three children, including Mirza, who is studying at a business college near the city and is their youngest.

Adi and Iva, a couple from Pandaan, East Java, who are employed as an embassy personal assistant and domestic helper, respectively, hailed Djoko as a workaholic diplomat who spends most of his time, including weekends, at the office or at official functions. “We are glad to work for him and to meet Indonesian citizens at the ambassadorial residence. We would like to explore Switzerland but after one and a half years here we have had no chance to do so because we are too busy and the ambassador always comes home late at night,” Adi said.

Besides dealing with daily tasks at the embassy, Djoko spends much of his time meeting Swiss businesspeople in hopes they will want to invest in Indonesia, and helping to promote Indonesian products in the country’s markets.

“Many Swiss companies have invested in Indonesia, including Nestlé and Aquafarm, and many agriculture and plantation products from Indonesia like coffee, fish, milk, rubber, palm oil and cotton have diversified their markets in the country,” he said.

Djoko is well respected by embassy staff and is known as an outspoken ambassador. He has criticized the government’s rigid budget system that he said has made the diplomatic mission less effective and inefficient. “Almost all Indonesian embassies worldwide will remain dormant in January until June because the Finance Ministry will start disbursing the 2012 budget in March or April at the earliest. And they will be racing to spend their budget from October until December,” he said.

He also complained that he had to spend money to rent a building to store scrapped inventory because embassies were not allowed to dump them for audit purposes. “We have to spend 4,000 Swiss francs [almost Rp 42 million] annually to rent a room to store scrapped office equipment.”

He said he personally had no problem if he were recalled to Jakarta after a Democratic Party faction urged the President to withdraw him and to cut the embassy’s annual budget because of his opposition to the House’s foreign trips.

“Most foreign trips made by legislators are more about tourism than comparative studies and I have voiced my criticism based on my own experience sitting in the House for a decade,” he said. “The House could check the Internet or have consultations with foreign embassies in Jakarta to learn about foreign countries’ systems and experience,” he added.

Djoko would like to go back to campus at Airlangga University in Surabaya and help develop PAN when he finishes his diplomatic assignment in 2013. He disagreed with his party’s nomination of Coordinating Minister of Economy Hatta Radjasa for the 2014 presidential race, even though Hatta is paired with Army Chief Gen. Pramono Edhie, because, according to Djoko, Hatta did not have the personality for the number one position.

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