Good bye, Pak Sadli

Pak Sadli and I are three generations apart. I am unlucky to never had him as a lecturer, mentor or a colleague when he was still active. So, there are not so many personal memories about him. But most friends would agree that he is a great man.

Among the not-so-many things I remember about him was at his early 80s, he still drives his own car. I heard that his friends and family had to forbid him to drive. Other things I can recall, whenever I bumped into him several times, in seminars or other occasions, he was always friendly, informal, and approachable.

Five years ago I was asked to contribute to a fetschrift for his 80th birthday. Here's the opening I wrote for the article (I won't translate it to English, so sorry for the non-Indonesian speakers):

Satu momen yang saya ingat mengenai Pak Sadli adalah acara peluncuran buku kumpulan tulisan beliau berjudul Landscape Ekonomi Politik dalam Krisis dan Transisi, tahun 2001 di CSIS. Dalam sesi komentar dari forum, Dr. Mayling Oey-Gardiner mengajukan pertanyaan yang ia sebut sebagai ‘titipan sponsor’. “Pak Sadli,” katanya, “dari hampir enam ratus halaman buku ini, adakah sekali saja anda menyebut kata ‘gender’?” Melihat siapa yang duduk di dekat Bu Mayling, barulah saya menyadari siapa yang disebut sebagai ‘sponsor’ tersebut. Ia tak lain adalah Dr. Saparinah Sadli. Istri Pak Sadli yang juga pengajar dan tokoh senior Studi Perempuan di UI. Secara berseloroh, Pak Sadli menjawab bahwa memang ia tidak pernah menulis tentang gender atas dasar ‘pembagian kerja’ dengan sang istri. Tetapi satu bulan setelah itu, di sebuah harian ibukota muncul artikel Pak Sadli mengenai gender dalam ekonomi.

That shows, not only Pak Sadli can teach or write. He can also 'listen.' May you rest in peace, Pak.