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Noted linguist JS Badudu dies at 89
One of Indonesiaâs most renowned linguists, Jusuf Sjarif (JS) Badudu, passed away aged 89 at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday night, after a decade of strokes and Alzheimerâs disease
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ne of Indonesia's most renowned linguists, Jusuf Sjarif (JS) Badudu, passed away aged 89 at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday night, after a decade of strokes and Alzheimer's disease.
The author of several books, including Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (The Grand Indonesian Dictionary) is survived by five sons, four daughters, 23 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
His wife Eva Henriette Alma Koroh died in January aged 85.
One of his grandchildren, Ananda Badudu, said that Badudu had been buried at Cikutra National Heroes Cemetery in West Java on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
The former host of the Pembinaan Bahasa Indonesia language supervision program on state-owned TV station TVRI marked many hearts with his humility, dedication to his subject and hard work.
'Pop [Grandpa] taught us many things; not through words - he didn't talk much - but through deeds, his dedication to his task. He was sincere about mastering his subject,' Ananda told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Badudu, born on March 19, 1926, in Gorontalo to a modest family of teachers, attended school in Ampana, Central Sulawesi, before moving to Luwuk in the same province, where he studied at a Volksonderwijser or CVO while working as a teacher at the age at 15.
He continued to study and teach at several schools in Sulawesi.
He used the money he earned to travel to Bandung, West Java, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in literature from Padjajaran University in 1963.
Badudu's son, Armand Badudu, said that after graduating from Padjajaran, his father had also taught at the university.
Badudu then received a scholarship that enabled him to take a postgraduate linguistics course at Leidse Rijksuniversiteit Leiden in the Netherlands.
He earned a doctoral degree in language from the University of Indonesia in Jakarta in 1975.
'Dad actually always wanted to be an engineer - linguistics was a second choice when he realized he didn't have the money or connections. He did it wholeheartedly anyway,' Armand said.
State officials and friends expressed their condolences on the death of the linguist famous for his credo 'Good and Correct Indonesian'.
'This nation has lost JS Badudu, who dedicated his life to the Indonesian language. His service is exemplary,' President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo stated on his official Twitter account.
Culture and Education Minister Anies Baswedan said he heard about the death of Badudu while he was delivering a speech on Indonesian as a unifying language at a UNESCO seminar in Bulgaria.
'Pak Badudu made a big contribution to forming the foundation of the Indonesian we see and use today. I have sent my deepest condolences to the family,' Anies said in a statement.
Meanwhile, poet and University of Indonesia emeritus professor Sapardi Djoko Damono expressed his grief, saying that, 'Indonesia has lost one of its best language experts and educators.'
Having worked together in the 1990s, Sapardi remembers Badudu as a low-profile academic.
'In his writings, speeches and lectures, he didn't judge, he didn't blame people for their mistakes - he simply straightened out what was wrong,' the poet told The Jakarta Post over the phone.
As well as mentoring noted linguists including Lie Charlie and Eni Karlieni, Badudu was a prolific writer and celebrated TV host.
'Good hosts of linguistic TV programs are few and far between,' Sapardi noted.
