By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I: Exemplary Leaders of The Indonesian Armed Forces]
I learned a key life lesson when Pak Ben Mboi said, ‘Prabowo if you want to be a good leader, I can only tell you two things. First, love your people and second, use your common sense. It can’t go wrong.’
That’s what I always remember. As a leader, we must love the people, love our men. Then we have to use common sense. We do not have to be too far-fetched because common sense usually works.
His words reminded me of a Javanese proverb, “Ojo Rumongso Iso, Nanging Iso Rumongso.” It is not enough for leaders to have the capability to accomplish a task, but they must also be able to feel the feelings, sufferings, and needs of others. Those are very profound philosophical ideas for me. Even now, I still hold on to Pak Ben Mboi’s quote, ‘love your people, use your common sense’.
After many years, I met Doctor Ben Mboi, as he is more well known after he retired as a soldier and as the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara. In the TNI, he was known as a military doctor who took part in the red beret (RPKAD) airborne jump in Merauke during the West Irian liberation campaign. At that time, the company commander was Captain Benny Moerdani, who later became the Minister of Defence and TNI Commander (PANGAB) in the 1980s. Pak Ben Mboi was part of Pak Benny Moerdani’s company that jumped into Merauke.
When I met Pak Ben Mboi, he shared a lot of stories with me. Among other things, he told me about the story when he boarded the Hercules plane before their airborne jump to West Irian. At that time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Mandala Command was Major General Suharto, and he presided over the sendoff ceremony. The operation Jaya Wijaya had one goal: to end the Dutch occupation of West Irian. Pak Harto later became a TNI General and eventually the President of the Republic of Indonesia.
At that time, Pak Ben Mboi was still a First Lieutenant. He was a military doctor. He recounted that the troops led by Pak Benny Moerdani had a roll call next to the C-130 Hercules transporter whose engines had been started. With the loud noise of the Hercules engine in the background, Pak Harto delivered a very brief speech.
According to Pak Ben Mboi, he heard Pak Harto saying: ‘You will carry out the task of liberating West Irian. We sent two teams before you a few days ago. But we have lost contact with them so far. I have to tell you, the chance of you making it back alive is only 50 per cent. I will now give you three minutes to think about it. If you are hesitant, now is your time to leave.’
According to Pak Ben Mboi, no one stepped out of the line. Pak Harto glanced at his watch, and after three minutes, he ordered the troops to board the plane. Pak Ben Mboi then jokingly told me that, perhaps, had Pak Harto given them more time to think it over, say five minutes, many of them would have changed their mind.
Amusing as it may be, it was indeed an act of heroism. I was thinking, maybe Pak Ben Mboi was right, if they were given more time, they would probably think, ‘Oh no, there is a 50 per cent chance that I may return to my family in a body bag.’ But they never wavered; not even a sliver of doubt came across their mind. That was the spirit of heroism that underpinned the national psyche at that time.
There is another interesting story that he shared after his governorship term had ended. Back then, his subordinates and his staff became aware that Pak Ben Mboi did not have a home., So they started fundraising and received support from the local government and some local businessmen to build Pak Ben Mboi’s house. In actual fact, Indonesia had many great men that devoted their whole career to the country and retired without a house. That means that they did not practice corruption or seek personal gain and yet were not rewarded appropriately. And because they were respected very much by their subordinates for so many years, these men found ways to get enough money to build a home upon the retirement of their commander.
I also learned a key life lesson when Pak Ben Mboi told me, ‘Prabowo, if you want to be a good leader, I can only tell you two things. First, love your people and second, use your common sense. You can’t go wrong with this principle.’
That’s what I have always remembered. As a leader, we must love the people, love our men. Then we have to use common sense. We do not have to be too far-fetched because common sense usually works. It reminds me of a Javanese proverb, “Ojo Rumongso Iso, Nanging Iso O Rumongso.” It is not enough for leaders to accomplish a task, but they must also feel the feelings, sufferings, and needs of others. It is a very profound philosophy for me. Even now, I still hold on to Pak Ben Mboi’s message, ‘love your people, use your common sense’.