A nationalist

Ir. Ciputra has been awarded a doctorate degree (honoris causa) in technical sciences by the Tarumanegara University recently. I attended the event and many ITB alumni (many of whom are senior and his university buddies) told me that Ciputra’s thinking is very nationalist. I tend to agree. Ciputra called Indonesia his own motherland and he wants to do more for his country. Pak Ci, as he is more known, did not forget to attribute his success to former president Soekarno, former Jakarta governors Soemarno and Ali Sadikin for their vision to build Jakarta. Together, they transformed a useless wasteland to become the third largest recreational park in the world (Disneyland in the US rejected it) and convert the slum area of Senen to a modern shopping complex. What struck me was he dared to lash out at the government for not including entrepreneurship studies in the national curriculum. I agree with him. We only have around 400,00 entrepreneurs in a population of more than 200 million people. University grads should be job creators and not job seekers. I also learned that Pak Ci was born to a poor family in Parigi, Central Sulawesi. His father Tjie Siem Poe was imprisoned by the Japanese occupation forces and died in a dungeon. This has formed Pak Ci’s nationalist spirit. Pak Ci led a difficult life. He had to hunt wild animals in the jungle to eat and walk barefoot 7 kilometers to attend school. And Pak Ci didn’t keep everything he’s got for himself. Eighty percent of his companies are now owned by the Jakarta Provincial Government. Now at 77, he still wants to do more for the nation and people. I have seen other conglomerates awarded doctorate degrees (are they nationalists?) but Pak Ci is different. He really deserves one. Congrats Pak Ci!