Speech by Anindya Novyan Bakrie

Founder and Chairman, The Bakrie Center Foundation

At the launch of the Bakrie Chair for Southeast Asian Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC.

Mr Douglas Paal, Vice-President,

Staff of the Carnegie Endowment,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen

One of the pleasures of speaking to an Indonesian, particularly a Javanese, is that one never has to feel the pain of being rebuffed. An Indonesian nods his head politely till the speaker has had his say. The problem, however, is what occurs after that. The speaker goes away with the happy idea that the Indonesian has agreed with all that he has said – when the truth is that he has merely heard him out and has not necessarily agreed with him. Westerners, to whom the absence of a forthright “No!” is equivalent to a default “Yes”, are aghast that the Indonesian has nodded his head without agreeing with anything that was said. I’m sure some of you who have experienced communicating with Indonesians know exactly what I mean. Continue Reading »

By Anindya Bakrie

Article in The Wall Street Journal

President Barack Obama’s third postponement of a visit to Indonesia and Australia this month is understandable. American voters are his primary constituency, and many would have been aghast had he decided to leave on a foreign tour when the Gulf Coast faces the worst oil spill in living memory. Yet the White House also has to balance the fact that the symbolism of a visit abroad matters just as much the president’s physical presence.

The Obama administration has signaled its interest in renewing its Asia-Pacific ties. Hillary Clinton made Japan her first foreign stop as Secretary of State, and Mr. Obama himself spent nine days in the region last November, including three days in China. Southeast Asians hope that the administration will follow up on these trips by engaging the region substantively and stepping up dialogues with China, Burma and North Korea. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s op-ed on these pages last week reinforced the administration’s specific business interests in Indonesia. Continue Reading »

By: Anindya N. Bakrie, Vice President of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia).

When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao makes his first trip to Indonesia this April, he will beat US President Barack Obama (who has postponed his March trip to June) to  the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) largest country. Premier Wen’s trip is important, not only in contrast to President Obama’s non-trip but also in underlining China’s deep historical links with the region.

Indonesia — and the rest of ASEAN — is watching China in a global context where the financial crisis has revealed the limits of America’s power. By contrast, China is rising and sharing its prosperity with friends. Continue Reading »

At present, social media in Indonesia is growing rapidly. The large part of our youth, especially those who live in major cities, actively use the internet to communicate, conduct their activities, and get the latest information. One medium which is rapidly developing is social media, for example Facebook, Twitter, blogs and so forth.

I believe that the existence of these social media in this era of new media will provide many benefits. Various types of information can be obtained quickly, immediately from first-hand sources. Anyone can talk freely at any time. We can discuss or chat with people whom we do not know. This is the great thing about this new media. Even though we do not know one another, we can have a good discussion through it.

Even though we have freedom to interact on social media, sometimes we forget about ethics. We should watch our manners, remaining polite when we interact online. The Internet gives us freedom, but we should not misuse it. This freedom should not be used to spread slander, untruths, or other things which are detrimental to others. When using social media, we also need to be courteous and polite so that we can obtain sympathy, be trusted, and have the society be willing to turn to us. Continue Reading »

Uber Esia di Rancamalang

I just came back from a visit to Rancamalang Village in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday, 25 March, 2010. This village is located near the Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) housing complex. Even though it is only about 6 km or about fifteen minutes away, the condition of this village is markedly different from that of the BSD area. There is very limited infrastructure there, and telecommunication facilities are limited. This is very ironic for a region which is so close to a major city.

The condition of Rancamalang Village has made it a target for the Do Business With Esia program, known as “Uber Esia”. Uber Esia is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program of Bakrie Telecom (Btel). However, Uber Esia is not your ordinary CSR program. It is a sustainable CSR program whose activities are not limited to providing assistance, but also include encouraging them to start business activities. As an analogy, we do not give them fish, but give them fishing poles and teach them how to fish. The hope is that they will soon be able to fish on their own, without our assistance. Continue Reading »

Stanford GSB Indonesia Study Trip Participants

This night I received a special guest, namely participants on a study trip from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) in California, United States. Stanford GSB is where I obtained my Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 2001.

While studying in the MBA program I also minored in a Global Management Program. I was actively involved in this program aimed at getting Stanford GSB students to develop an international outlook. Even though Forbes Magazine named Stanford GSB as the number one university in the United States (each year they only accept about 300 students), their students still need to develop a broader perspective, including learning about other countries, such as Indonesia.

This trip was part of their study tour to Indonesia and Singapore. This was a chance for Indonesians to promote their country, to introduce our strong points, including matters which are being improved. On top of that, these participants were the cream of the crop, some of whom may go on the become world leaders. Continue Reading »

Cak Nun gave a speech in the joint Reflection & Fast Breaking event for the victims of the Sidoarjo Mud Flow disaster.

Three days ago our family received an unexpected invitation from the residents of four villages which were affected by the mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, to attend an event for breaking the fast and listening to a reflective speech with Emha Ainun Nadjib, who is better known as Cak Nun, a cultural expert and well-liked religious speaker.

Frankly, I was initially reluctant and hesitant to bring this up, because in addition to being heavily covered in the media, this topic is a very sensitive one with many different interpretations. However, based on the spirit of sharing and not to judge who is right and wrong, I am willing to write about it in this blog. In addition to this, this is just my view as a member of the Bakrie family, who coincidentally is very familiar with this topic.

On account of the massive impact on the live of the local populace, this mudflow disaster will continue to be a complex topic, even a controversial one. This disaster has been a severe blow to our family, even though we understand that this is nothing compared to the trials experienced by the thousands of residents who have been affected. Continue Reading »