"Gema Kebangkitan - Catatan Harapan Anak Bangsa" is finally published!

It's a compilation of writings by Indonesian students, professionals and academicians reside in Singapore. The committee is called "Hope for Indonesia" (HFI).

I am one of the article writers, with my article titled "Dear, Can We Have More Susi Susanti? Please...", page 101.

Before the book was published, I thought... well, it's gonna be a book written by students, read by students. Then I started to read the articles, and I was totally blown away! Mind you, the writers include professional journalists, professors, doctor, and a lot of other competent professionals in their field. I feel absolutely honoured to be among the writers. I am only a humble student who happens to fall in love with badminton in the first game :)

As Haslim Mulyadi, the chairman writes in his introduction...

"... is an anthology of inspirations from Indonesian community in Singapore. The essays you will read in this book share common aspirations - all towards a better Indonesia. Through this book, we aim to convey the messages of hope, care, and best wishes for our country."





Because this is MY blog, I suppose you are curious what I write in my article (even if you're not curious, can't you just save my face by telling me otherwise? =P)

Let me quote some sentences from my own article there...

... Indonesia has been associated with the very top end of badminton superpower, maybe just like Brazil with soccer...

... People say, when you are in foreign countries, your patriotism drops to almost negligible. That is not true, not at all. We are Indonesians, and we are behind Taufik, all the way...

... I am here not to finger-point anyone, I have neither the expertise nor the authority to do that. However, I just want to say, I love this country, and with the current condition of its badminton, my heart is crying. I want my Susi Susanti back, I want my Heryanto Arby back! Not one Susi, not two, more of her! ...



... If Christian Sugiono or Krisdayanti can be their spokespersons, why can't Taufik, Chandra, or Sony be like them? ...

... My answer: because there are no marketing efforts. No matter how great the product is, if there are no marketing efforts, people will not know. If people do not know, they will not buy...




... If everything goes well, it is not impossible the next Susi Susanti will be born soon, and Indonesia will once again, dominate the world's badminton. And I will again, watch Thomas and Uber Cup with some friends, and we will shout again happily after we bring back Thomas and Uber Cup to Indonesia. Am I asking too much? Say "no" please.

The full article is available upon request :)

If you have any queries regarding this very engaging, entertaining, and inspiring book, you can reach the chairman at haslimm AT yahoo DOT com.