(JP/Jerry Adiguna)

Arifin Putra Scheunemann is an Indonesian actor of partly German descent, with not only good looks but also great acting skills, who has a knack for playing unique and unusual characters.

Arifin gained fame in 2004 when he played a geeky high school student in a teen soap opera called Kisah Kasih di Sekolah (High School Love Story). He had his silver screen debut in 2008 in the teen romance Lost in Love.

Arifin’s acting received critical acclaim in 2009 when he took the gutsy decision to play a psychopathic cannibal in Rumah Dara (internationally titled as Macabre), an Indonesian slash-horror film. The character Arifin portrayed in this film was completely different from his previous roles, earning him recognition as one of few Indonesian actors who dare to get out of their comfort zone.

For his latest project, Arifin will join the main cast in award-winning director Angga Sasongko’s action flick Lelawa, which is scheduled to be screened in December.

Beyond his proficient acting craft, Arifin has another passion for a subject a world away from the glittering limelight of the film and entertainment industry.

That passion is Arifin’s curiosity and eagerness to learn everything about public infrastructure and policymaking.

“My friends always say that I should have become a civil engineer,” Arifin told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

Arifin nerds out when he talks about his passion for infrastructure, sounding more like a public policy expert or economic analyst than an actor. This passion was inspired by his childhood memories from Germany, a country with good infrastructure.

In the interview, Arifin explained how he subscribed to e-magazines and other literature for getting the latest updates on infrastructure development across the globe and in Indonesia.

He also said that he actively participated in online forums and communities that specifically catered to infrastructure nerds and information-seekers, so that he could compare the public policy approaches of different countries and regions.

“I check them out online often. While most people today go online every five minutes to check on their social media accounts, I do it to read about what is going on at economic and infrastructure news portals and forums,” Arifin said, adding that the Post’s business section was his favorite reading material.

For his passion, Arifin goes beyond surfing the web. He said he loved to spend his time outside acting to go straight to the field, seeing the development of infrastructure projects first-hand while taking notes on what he thought could have been done better.

“At night, I often go strolling around the MRT development projects in Jakarta. I like to observe whether they are tidy or not and whether the integration with other public transportation facilities is on point,” he said.

Mostly, Arifin said, he felt very frustrated whenever he observed the poor condition of infrastructure and public transportation facilities in Indonesia, and his frustration grows whenever he is reminded of the situation in Germany, where he was born in 1987 and spent his early childhood.

Germany and Indonesia practically started from the same starting point when they came to develop their infrastructure system. When Germany was completely left in rubbles after its defeat in World War II, Indonesia also announced its independence not long after.

However, in the span of around 70 years, Indonesia remains in the dark ages in terms of its public infrastructure and transportation facilities, while Germany has transformed into a developed country with good infrastructure.

“I went to Germany last summer. There, I saw that even the smallest towns have fully integrated transportation facilities. Every city, from the smallest village to the largest metropolis, has the same system, so that nobody needs to use a private vehicle to go anywhere,” he said.

In contrast, Arifin said that in Indonesia, even in the largest cities such as Jakarta, the public transportation facilities remained abysmal and were not sufficiently integrated with one another.

“One thing I notice is that in our country, the coordination on public infrastructure development is still lacking. In addition, none of the policymakers does it from their heart. They only see developing infrastructure as a job, not as something that they want to leave as a legacy for their children.”

Aside from public transportation, Arifin is concerned about the lack of renewable energy development in Indonesia, something he believed could catastrophically affect the lives of the future generation.

“We are ruining our world if we keep on using fossil fuels. It causes greenhouse effects, global warming and destroys our coral reefs,” he said.

While people may think Arifin’s passion for public infrastructure and his current status as one of Indonesia’s most sought-after lead actors are incompatible, the actor believes he can utilize his profession as a way to become directly involved in the development of infrastructure in Indonesia.

“I might have missed the opportunity to enroll in engineering at university, but I believe I still have a chance to be directly involved, by using my profession as a way to raise awareness among the public about the importance of public transportation and renewable energy,” Arifin said.

“I have also been thinking about producing a documentary film on Indonesia’s public transportation infrastructure and renewable energy development. I believe that awareness is best triggered through films,” he added.

Arifin, who dreamed of producing green cars as a kid, also said he had major plans to go beyond films in order to promote the development of public transportation and renewable energy projects in Indonesia.

“I want to take courses on those subjects, and I am planning to become an investor in companies that want to build public infrastructure,” he said.

"I have also been thinking about producing a documentary film on Indonesia’s public transportation infrastructure and renewable energy development.”

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