June 4, 2026 | 10:07 am
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto awarded the Bintang Mahaputra Utama honorary medal to his younger brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, at the State Palace, Jakarta, August 25, 2025. In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia, President Prabowo presented Service and Honorary Star medals to 122 individuals who were recognized for their significant contributions to the nation. Antara/Muhammad Adimaja
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Visiting Sumitro Djojohadikusumo’s home on Jalan Sriwijaya in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, was a routine for Emil Salim seven decades ago. The former Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council vividly remembers how Sumitro frequently summoned several of his students at night for extra lectures, especially whenever the father of President Prabowo Subianto was preparing to travel abroad. At the time, Sumitro, a leading figure in the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI), often traveled overseas for political affairs.As a student and teaching assistant, Emil could hardly refuse requests from Sumitro, who served as Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia from 1951 to 1957. Through those evening sessions, Sumitro prepared his students to replace him in teaching whenever necessary. “We received intensive lessons from Pak Sumitro during those nights,” Emil told Tempo on February 3, 2026.During his years under Sumitro’s guidance, Emil studied macroeconomics and development economics. For the former Minister of Population and Environment, Sumitro’s ideas introduced an entirely new perspective because the economic theories known at the time dealt mostly with corporate profit and loss, investment, and other microeconomic issues.From Sumitro, Emil Salim first encountered Keynesianism, the macroeconomic theory popularized in the 1930s by British economist John Maynard Keynes. “He changed my view on economics,” Emil said.Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine
