‘Arrogant people bore me’ 

Known as the cute and friendly spokesman among all the president’s men, Andi Mallarangeng obtained his doctorate in the U.S. and returned to Indonesia to become a prominent political analyst. A leading tennis player in his home province of South Sulawesi in his teens (his younger brother Rizal went one better by becoming a national champion), Andi is known as proper, unfailingly polite but good-humored. As he reveals here, his participation in the Bike to Work movement may be tied to a long-held childhood dream.   

My earliest memory is …
Wow … When I was probably two or three years old, I was still in Manado with my grandparents, looking at the backyard with all the chickens, pigeons and other animals.

My first crush was …
Probably I was in elementary school in Pare-Pare, and there was a nice, cute girl when I was there.

Craziest thing you have done?
I went with fishermen from Makassar in a traditional fishing boat for almost a week to fish all the way at the outer islands in the Makassar Strait. All I wore the whole time was a sarong.  

My favorite gadget is …
My communicator and my laptop, because I do everything with them. Without them I cannot be effective. We’re inseparable. 

I’m very bad at …
At writing and drawing by hand. My drawings are always a disaster. That’s why I like computers.

At school I was …
Trying to find myself.

My happiest moment was …
When my girlfriend said yes when I proposed.

What are your best traits?
I think that I try to do good at every opportunity.

And worst?
I’m not very organized.

Your favorite journey?
Going fishing at sea.

Worst nightmare?
When my father died [in his mid-30s, he was the country’s youngest regent at the time] it was very bad. I was 10.

Who do you love?
My family of course, my wife and two kids.

What makes you laugh?
It’s when something just happens with the people who are closest to my heart.

What makes you sad?
When I know I can do things better than I did. That I didn’t do as much as I can.

What makes you bored?
When people are talking to me and I don’t know what is their focus, and they keep talking about themselves. Arrogance bores me, in men or women.

Favorite corner of your home?
I like to be on my sofa in the corner of the living room, where I can read or write on my laptop, or listen to my iPod.

What is on your iPod?
Lately I have been listening to a CD by country singer Dean Dillon. I bought it in the U.S. but I only found it a few days ago. It brings back memories of the U.S. Other than that I like Dire Straits, Chrisye [the interview was conducted on the day the Indonesian singer died].

What was the last good book you read?
I am rereading Pramoedya Ananta Toer. I first read him in college. I just read Omar Pamuk’s My Name is Red.  

Any regrets?
I wanted to join the Independence Day bike race when I was a kid in my town of Pare-Pare because I thought I could win it. But my mother didn’t allow me to take part. And I’m still riding my bike today with the Bike to Work every Friday. I brought it up with my mom that, and she smiled and said, “If you won the race, you would have been a cyclist, not hold a Phd in political science.” 

If I wasn’t me, I would like to be …
Uhmm. No, I would like to be me.

What talent do you wish you had?
To play a musical instrument, I don’t know any of them. When my son was in elementary school he learned to play the flute. And I asked him if he could play the song, Desaku yang Kucinta (My Beloved Village) that my grandfather had taught me, and he could. And I told him, “You can already beat me at one thing because you can play the flute, and also that song”.   

What would you change about yourself?
I wish I had been physically stronger when I was a teenager, so I could have won more tennis tournaments. I played since I was a kid, I was good, but I always had a problem with long sets. I didn’t have the endurance.

First thing you think of in the morning?
What’s the news today? 

Last thing you think of at night?
Before I sleep, I check my daughter if she is asleep. And to see that everything in the house is OK.

How do you want to die?
Wow. I would say I don’t want to die alone. I want to die with my family and all the people I love around me. That would be the ideal death.

Your last meal?
I would love to have my grandmother’s grilled chicken. It was spicy and different from other recipes. My mother could make it, but it wasn’t that perfect. I miss that.

+ Bruce Emond

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