My memory with him

I have been passing one year with Morgan as my boss at AFR Jakarta bureau since last year, February 2006. The first impression I got from first meeting at office was that he’s relax person. He wore jeans. Very simple and relax. Andrew, his predecessor, introduced him and said he’s surfer.

And it’s proved after working together with him for months. He had never pushed me doing something that was impossible to do. He would only ask my assistance, especially dealing with Indonesia things, if he could not it. For example, an interview. As long as the source could speak English, he would do by himself to do it. He’s never angry to me whereas he’s my boss who deserved to do it if I did mistake, but he didn’t. He regarded me as his partner, equal position, not his inferior. I highly appreciate it.

Almost every day except holiday, we were always together at office. He seldom went out during lunch time as he brought his own meal from home, cooked by his maid. His habit influenced me. Then, I also brought my own meal from home. Even, it also influenced my friends who used to frequently have lunch outside to bring meal from home and having lunch at office. I think he was smart to take advantage of his time.

In working hours, he focused on his work, while at the weekend, he enjoyed his time for leisure. That’s good balance for life, isn’t it? I also never saw him in panic when the deadline came. He organized all things well. I sometimes thought that he might never been stressed.

During one year, we also traveled a lot throughout Indonesia such as Batam, Aceh, Papua, some towns in Kalimantan, Bali, Lombok, and Timor Leste. Our next trip was Timor Leste for general election coverage in April. I had already booked ticket, hotel, and car there. We also planned to over Newmont case in Buyat, Menado.

One thing that I remember if we would like to do trip, he always asked me to reserve seat at emergency exit. When I asked why he prefered to sit there, he said becasue of his long leg. Seat near emergency exit has wider space for his leg. That’s the only reason. He also said we had to fly only Garuda. ’I feel uncomfortable flying other flight’. He pointed out certain airlines he didn’t trust. So, when we planned to visit Palangkaraya, South Kalimantan, there were only two aircrafts serving the route namely Batavia and Sriwaya Air. He asked me to ask my friends to compare both airlines which was safer before we booked ticket. After getting some informations from my friends who ever flied both airlines, I decided to take Sriwijaya Air.

When on board, I asked him. ”How do you feel?”. ”It’s ok as long as no crash”, he said. Ironically, his life ended in aircraft he trusted very much. Even, he voluntarily left Adam Air ticket at home to get on Garuda to Yogyakarta.

Last Thursday, one day after the incident, I flied back to Jakarta alone from Yogyakarta. It should be my trip with him. After finishing trip, we were usually together in garuda executive lounge where we sometimes discussed the trip. If no conversation, we just read book or newspaper. On that day, in the executive lounge, I was alone. It felt strange. I felt so sad. I felt to have lost someone in my life. I am sure that this feeling also overwhelmed his family and his friends and other people who knew him.

Retno I Palupi
Assistant to Morgan Mellish in Jakarta