At home in foreign lands
Whether it’s travelling, strengthening relationships and cooperations and
signing agreements, Indonesian Ambassador to Kenya His Excellency
Muhamad Hery Saripudin loves every bit of being a diplomat
Being posted in Kenya in 2020, was a dream come true for His Excellency Dr Muhamad
Hery Saripudin and his wife Zulfah Nahdliyati despite travelling at the height of Covid-19
pandemic.
Having watched the movie Out of Africa in 1985 when he was in college, he had always
desired to visit Kenya.
“When I was watching the movie, I had a strong desire to visit the country someday. I was
impressed with the scenery— with the panorama, but didn’t know that it was Kenya. Later
on through reading, I discovered that it was indeed Kenya. So, the wish that I had in 1985
was materialised in 2020,” narrates Amb Saripudin.
The Masaai Mara became one of the family’s destinations thanks to the film. What the
ambassador loves about the country is the cool weather and friendly people. For the
ambassador’s wife, Zulfah, the markets are part of her go to places.
“I love to go to markets sometimes — traditional markets, because I want to know people’s
daily life. I know that if you want to know the character of a country, just go to the
market,” she explains.
The 11 th Indonesian ambassador to Kenya, Saripudin began his career as a diplomat 35
years ago. Having come from a poor background, his wish was to one day be in a
profession that allowed him to travel the world and he believes that his diplomatic role is
a dream come true.
When I was graduating from high school, I came across Department of International
Relations and my plain logic was that it must be a career that involved going abroad. I
joined university, and thanks God, right after I graduated, I applied to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and I’ve been serving there ever since,” he continues.
The ambassador met his wife at the university when he was busy with his thesis in 198.
The two lovebirds tied the knot in 1991, but had to be apart since Saripudin was studying
for his Master’s in International Development in Canada. His first assignment was in
Pretoria, South Africa immediately after independence.
“Before, Indonesia didn’t recognise South Africa because of their apartheid system. Once
apartheid was abolished and the late President Nelson Mandela was released, we signed
the bilateral diplomatic relationships and by then, I was the first junior Indonesian
diplomat posted there,” the ambassador recalls.
Being the first ambassador in South Africa was historic for him and his family since he
was setting precedence for the rest of the ambassadors and placing the necessary
infrastructure for the embassy. One of his memorable moments was the close ties that he
developed with South Africa and the fact that Mandela’s shirt was the renowned
Indonesia batik shirt.
“When I was there, my ambassador always gave the shirt to Mandela as a gift from a
famous designer. I met him several times and he was very charismatic and humble. All
our children, were invited to take a picture with Mandela,” he recalls.
From Pretoria, the ambassador was posted to Vancouver, Canada for four years from
2001 to 2005.
Another defining moment was during the September 11, 2001 attack, which took place in
New York.
“So many flights from Indonesia were diverted to Vancouver since the sky was closed in
New York.”
His third assignment was in New York, where he stayed between 2008 and 2012. By
this time, his four children were all grown, some were in junior high school and high
school.
The three years he spent as the Indonesian mission to UN were challenging,
(When was he posted?).
“Every day, we attended two conferences: One in the morning and the other in the
afternoon and each of these had different topics, which I had to listen and thereafter
report to Jakarta on the state of affairs. This proved to be a tough affair since we were in
different time zones. I also had to read a lot of documents and always be ready to speak up
on any issue touching my country’s national interest,” he explains.
The ambassador counts himself fortunate to have been posted in New York, one of the
dream postings for every ambassador. It equipped him with not only bilateral, but also
multilateral experience required for his next assignment and also saw him make a lot of
friends.
“When I came to Kenya, I met some of the ambassadors who I was with in New York such
as the (High Commissioner of Mexico, India and Egypt) their names please?.
Being posted in New York or Geneva is a kind of training ground especially for the
young diplomats to be prepared for leadership,” he explains.
He was then posted to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia before coming to Kenya.
Zulfah is glad to be the diplomat’s wife and to explore different cultures. She too
underwent training for three months to understand the culture, food and what it takes to
be a diplomat’s wife.
“Since I married my husband, I prepared myself to be a diplomat’s wife.
My duty is to promote the culture of Indonesia in the host nation. As a diplomat’s wife, I
have to know how to cook and serve guests who come to the residence for events. I also
have to know how to mingle with the guests. It is a great experience,” she says.
To help her cope, Zulfah also joins organisations and groups that enrich her experiences
in the host country to learn more cultural cuisines and experiences.
“I want to explore many things in Kenya and have joined many groups such as the spouses
of the heads of mission group. I also have to research about the host country and cultures
to be knowledgeable when my husband is speaking about something. My husband is also
spontaneous and I have learnt to always be ready to hosts guests, especially the
impromptu ones,” she adds.
Now that the couple’s children are grown, they do not travel with them. “It’s quite hard for
me because my children are not here. It takes a 17 hour flight to get to them
(Where are they), but I have to support my husband till my duty is finished,” she says.
Travelling with children as diplomats was one of the toughest bit. As she is a strict parent,
Zulfah always ensured that her children were grounded regardless of the life they lived.
“As Muslims, we have taught them how to pray and study Quran. We also taught them to
be polite because being a diplomat’s children is not easy. I also ensured that we always
learnt how to say hello, thank you, I’m sorry in the local dialects of the countries we were
posted to,” she adds.
Apart from fulfilling his childhood dream of traveling the world, the ambassador is glad of
the exposure that travel brings.
“The other good side is that you are not silo minded since you meet people from different
religions. The truth is relative and not absolute,which makes us more tolerant. However,
one of the challenges is that we don’t have very special friends or best friends in terms of
physical connection because we are always away,” he says.
One of his biggest legacies is setting up an office in Jakarta connecting Kenya and
Indonesia.
“Indonesia has a population of 275 million people. If we take a half of them, and they
drink a cup of coffee or tea, how many tons can Kenya sell to them? That is a big market.
There are also avocados and flowers. Jakarta too is the capital city of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, commonly as ASEAN, and many countries send their
ambassadors to the capital, which can be a boost to Kenya with the opened embassy,” says
the ambassador.
His second achievement is that after 45 years, he was able to have the president of
Indonesia (his name?) visit Kenya for the first time.
“Not a single president had ever visited bilaterally, but on August 2023, my president
came here not ceremoniously, but 15 MOUs in various sectors were signed that sealed
benefited both countries. The only wish remaining is to have President Ruto visit
Indonesia,” he concludes.ep, gained my experience
and licenses. The final one I got from an Indian teacher while my husband was on a
mission there,” she says in conclusion. Supporting young musicians and other creatives. One of his biggest dreams is to establish a professional recording studio in his home area, so upcoming artists do not have to endure the same financial and logistical barriers he faced.
