By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin is a man of excellent personal discipline. He is a man who never speaks ill of others. He never hinders someone else’s career. He always leads calmly, and he follows the principle ing ngarsa sung tulada, always leading by example.
He is a good shooter. He also stays in shape. He is always eager to learn. In addition, he is also a pious man who obeys the teachings of his faith. I witnessed this when I was his roommate. He never misses a prayer, and he always fasts on Mondays and Thursdays. He is also very meticulous.
The first time I got to know Pak Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin was when he was the commander of the cadet division for the class of ’74. When we were both at Pavilion 5 in Tidar Valley, Military College (AKMIL), he became a friend of mine, and both of us enrolled in infantry-branch courses. We undertook parachuting and commando training together.
When we were Second Lieutenant, we served in the same company under First Lieutenant Mujain, a SECAPA graduate deployed with Pak Benny in Merauke during Operation Trikora.
We were then separated when we became Lieutenants. Although both of us were in Group 1 Para-Commando, he became Company Commander of Company 111, and I became Company Commander of Company 112. We then had our careers. He became the president’s bodyguard and then became the Group Commander of Presidential Security Detail (PASPAMPRES).
Later he was promoted to become the Battalion Commander in Group 1, KOPASSUS Deputy Assistant for Operations, and Commander of Military Resort Command (DANREM).
As people considered close to President Suharto, Pak Sjafrie suffered in his career after 1998. . Otherwise, Pak Sjafrie could have had an even brighter career. I remember our seniors used to tell us, ‘Any rank above Colonel is a political one. Your career no longer depends on your professionalism.’
What I conveyed here is based on what I witnessed personally. Pak Sjafrie became a 3-star general. He briefly became the Deputy Minister of Defence. He was the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defence as well, and even now, he still assists me in the Ministry of Defence.
He is a man of strict personal discipline. He never speaks ill of others, never hinders others’ career paths. He always leads calmly and follows the principle of ing ngarsa sung tulada, leading by example.
He is a good shooter and always maintains his good physique. He is also a lifelong learner, always eager to learn new things. In addition, he is also a pious man who adheres to the teachings of his faith. I witnessed this in the years when we were roommates. He never misses his five-time daily prayers and Mondays and Thursdays fast. He is also very detail-oriented.
In operations in East Timor, in Aceh and in Papua, he was also very successful. He is well-loved by his men. He is very calm, with a very quiet demeanour, and in my opinion, he is one of the best generals of my generation.
