"Detik-Detik yang Menentukan: Jalan Panjang Indonesia Menuju Demokrasi" - B.J. Habibie

I admire Indonesia's third president, B.J. Habibie, quite a lot. It began with the movie Habibie & Ainun.
They have an amazing love story, but not because of its 'romance'. They had a huge respect for each other, they knew their roles within the family, and they both strived to give best for Indonesia.

But then I read Habibie's book "Habibie & Ainun", and it was different than anything I'd read before!
Reading it, you can feel Habibie's loss.

At the same time, I learned about who he is through his writing voice. He had 'magic words' that he repeated when talking about certain things. He is passionate, sincere, and always considers his actions wisely.

So when I saw this book, I knew I had to pick it up! And it was a lot of fun to read: I learned a lot about Habibie and about my own country.

This book is about Habibie's days prior and during his presidential office, written from his perspective. It is quite personal, it almost feels like listening to your grandparents recalling a story - except his memory is really quite incredible and sharp.

He mentioned and discussed various cases including East Timor , KKN and Suharto (Collusion, Corruption, Nepotism), democracy and economic issues. He was basically 'pushed over the edge' and had to 'fix' these issues in the middle of riot and underestimations from both Indonesian citizens and the international eyes. 
But with a cool head he put his head down and get to work. Systematic and full of considerations. And even though some might despise his accomplishments, I think he'd done a lot for the country, especially considering the situations at that time.

I didn't realize that the country I live in basically is 'built' based on Habibie's legacies. The democratic systems that I know. The economy system. The government system. Various fundamental aspects of the country was reformed by him and his government.
And, he did it in 512 days. That is less than 1.5 years. Amazing.

I took notes from the book bcs I learned a lot. Indonesia need more people like him! And there are many, I'm sure, with the same passion and capability as him. But we need to learn humility, perseverance, and the art of understanding the situation from him. Although, I believe he is kind of a genius. The way he analyzed and made plans on how he should conduct his government, which issues must be addressed first and in what ways, showed his incredibly sophisticated way of thinking. And remember he was neither a politician nor an economist. He didn't come from a military background. He is a technocrat! He builds and makes things.
How proud I am to have such a figure in Indonesia. 

I'm really looking forward to reading it again, learning more from the book and from the person.
And I'm hoping he would write more books? :p

Thank you, Pak Habibie!


Cheers!
-*^^*-