Leaving a mark: Utomo Josodirdjo signs a banner featuring his biography cover. (Courtesy of ZigZag Indonesia)

A week after his birthday on Jan. 1, Utomo Josodirdjo gathered his closest friends and family at the Fairmont Jakarta for a luncheon and launch of his memoir, A Journey Through Time: The Memoir of Utomo Josodirdjo.

Written by former Kompas Gramedia CEO Agung Adiprasetyo and former Kompas daily journalist Maria Hartiningsih, the memoir traces Utomo’s journey from his childhood in Malang, East Java to finding purpose through humanitarian aid with evangelical Christian NGO World Vision International (WVI).

Born Liem King Hok on Jan. 1, 1930, King Hok grew up in the middle of World War II, with memories of visiting his father Liem Hwai Tjioe during the latter’s incarceration by the Japanese forces for association with the Dutch. 

After the incarceration, King Hok’s mother Anna Bong entered a period of sickness. His elder brother Harry Liem, who was conscripted into the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), was sent to Japan to undergo forced labor.

During the Japanese occupation, the teenage King Hok made ends meet by selling pastel after class was over. His elder sister Sianne Liem made the pastel, which King Hok would carry in a tin as he rode through Malang.

Some time later in 1951, King Hok would find himself at a port in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Under a scholarship from the Indonesian government, he pursued his education and became a member of the Indonesian Students’ Association (PPI).

It was through the PPI that King Hok met his future wife Touwtje Thung, introduced by a friend at a PPI meeting in Amsterdam. The couple soon married in 1956 after King Hok’s graduation and decided to stay in the Netherlands, though they were forced to return in 1957 as both countries’ relationship soured following the West Irian dispute.

In Indonesia, King Hok began his career at the Finance Ministry, where he became the assistant to the only accountant in the ministry’s tax department.

After accepting an offer as a lecturer at Airlangga University in 1960, King Hok moved to Surabaya, East Java, where he also set up an accounting firm with his fellow lecturer Mohammad Husni Thamrin. The pair was also responsible for the university’s accounting major, which they had the privilege of teaching the first batch of students.

In 1968, King Hok took up the name Utomo Josodirdjo. In Javanese, utomo means leading and josodirdjo means high merit. His wife Touwtje then became known as Utami.

Utomo’s venture in accounting further continued with a meeting with Filipino accountant Washington SyCip at a Jakarta seminar in 1967. At that time, SyCip’s firm SyCip, Gorres, Velayo, & Company (SGV & Co.) was in the process of expanding throughout Asia.

In 1968, CGV-Utomo & Co. was established in Jakarta. The turning point came in 1985, when the firm merged with American accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The decision was a large contention for Utomo and SyCIp, who preferred to take up Deloitte’s offer, then the second-largest accounting firm in the world.

Though Utomo’s choice was ultimately a winner by vote, Arthur Andersen ended up folding after the 2002 Enron scandal.

Utomo decided to retire in August 1989, but it was in 2004 that he finally found the meaning of life through charity with WVI. He became an international board member and oversaw the rehabilitation efforts after the 2004 tsunami in Aceh. His journey also took him to the other ends of the earth, including Africa and Latin America.

Maria, who along with Agung spoke with Utomo and his closest family and acquaintances throughout 2019, said she felt very lucky to be able to experience meeting and getting to know the man.

“It’s not only writing about Pak Utomo, but he has also given so much to us, like his compassion and spirit in living life to the fullest We were very lucky to be able to talk to Pak Utomo for months, and I think it’s a blessing to be able to do so,” she said.

Meanwhile, Agung likened Utomo to the Wijayakusuma flower, noting that the flower, though fragrant and beautiful, only blooms at nighttime.

“I imagined Pak Utomo to be like the flower, in that he was there in times of darkness during a time when accounting wasn’t as developed, nor were administrative processes.

“Then Pak Utomo came along and helped develop the field. Not only that, when people open accounting firms, they often do it for their own benefit. Pak Utomo opened his firm and invited foreign partners who followed his example, instead of the other way around,” Agung said.