http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060819.F04
Israr Ardiansyah, London
Riswandha Imawan never taught me. I went to Gadjah Mada University (UGM) School of Forestry when he had returned home to lecture at the UGM School of Social and Political Sciences after obtaining a doctorate in comparative politics at Northern Illinois University.
Better known as Mas Ris among journalists, Riswandha was a typical UGM lecturer in terms of appearance. He was not an eccentric type, unlike one of his colleagues who went to campus in his own andong (horse carriage), a nuclear expert who opposed the presence of a nuclear reactor plant in Indonesia or a senior classic Javanese literature lecturer who preferred teaching his students at home.
Riswandha used to go to the campus on his motorbike or by car. He dressed neatly, sported a moustache and joked a lot. I am sure that those who did not know him well could never imagine that he had once carried his bicycle to Puncak Garuda, the highest peak of Mount Merapi (2,968 meters), and was photographed while sitting on the bike.
I once climbed to the volcano's summit and was photographed wearing a formal batik shirt there. However, I would not torture myself by carrying a bicycle while climbing one of the world's most active volcanoes, whose slopes range between 30 and 60 degrees.
I was lucky to see the Riswandha's photograph: He is seen smiling on top of his bicycle, close to the steep gorges into which dozens of climbers have fallen, died and been immortalized in scattered monuments up there.
Those who enjoy watching the sunrise from Kendit, a forested area below the peak of Mount Merapi, may be lucky enough to spot a Javan eagle fly and glide over the gorges and forests. Such a rare experience of watching the endangered predator had inspired Riswandha to always write "the eagle flies alone" and kaki Merapi (foot of Mount Merapi) at the end of his articles.
"The eagle is a symbol of courage, liberty and a sharp vision," said Riswandha when I asked him of his characteristic tag line.
He said when he spoke he always got straight to the point, thanks to his courage inspired by the eagle.
When Megawati Soekarnoputri was unseated as Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) chairperson in 1996, Riswandha encouraged her through his articles and comments. He even wrote a foreword for an unofficial political biography of Megawati written by young writer Ahmad Bahar.
He had been active during his undergraduate studies as a member of the Indonesian Nationalist Student Movement (GMNI), a youth group formerly affiliated to the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). Whenever we journalists wanted to hear a critical perspective on the July 27, 1996 tragedy and corresponding events, we always called on Riswandha.
However, intimidation was also part of his life. A group of unidentified people terrorized him after he criticized Megawati's policies when she was in power. Some even pelted his house with stones and threatened him via telephone, forcing him to change his home number and to activate the voice mail mode on his mobile. He did not look particularly disturbed by the harassment and was still accessible for interviews.
During the New Order era, he was critical of the dual-function of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), despite the fact that his father and grandfather were soldiers. "The political party system in the New Order era was designed for Golkar Party's benefit. All state apparatus have been designed to support the system," he once said.
Riswandha actively spoke in pro-reform student rallies between April and May 1998, before President Soeharto's resignation. He even encouraged -- and perhaps provoked -- his students on several occasions to join the rallies. "Why are you still here? The nation is going to collapse! No class today. Go and join the rally."
After Soeharto's downfall, he predicted that Megawati and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) would be the future presidents of Indonesia.
"History tells us that all former presidents were ordinary and mediocre persons. They were not the most extreme and bravest in their time," Riswandha told me in 1998 explaining why he thought Megawati and SBY would be elected. "People will choose Megawati and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who are seldom vocal, instead of other more critical figures," said Riswandha when BJ Habibie's administration was preparing for the 1999 elections.
Furthermore, Riswandha was critical of all Indonesian presidents after Soeharto. He decided not to be officially involved in any political parties and remain independent, despite some common political visions with Megawati's camp. Sometimes he smiled and said: "The eagle flies alone," when we Yogyakarta journalists asked him why he stayed away from any political parties unlike some of his fellow UGM lecturers.
Amid his tight schedule, Riswandha used to respond to journalists' requests for interviews. Every interview with him was insightful for journalists who came from various disciplines and gave us an understanding of politics that we could not get in class. He even attended the discussion at the opening of The Jakarta Post's Yogyakarta office in 1999.
After his death on Aug. 4, 2006 at 51 years of age, Indonesian journalists have lost a helpful resource person and popular political observer. His departure is a great loss to Indonesia which still needs strong scholarly critics. An eagle called Riswandha has flown alone.
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The writer was a Yogyakarta-based reporter of The Jakarta Post from 1996 to 2002. He is currently undertaking a postgraduate program at University College London (UCL) under the British Chevening Award scheme. He can be reached at israrardi@yahoo.com.
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