Prior to Morgan's sudden passing

Soon after getting Minister Downer’s agenda in Indonesia from Australian embassy in Jakarta, Morgan told me that we had to cover Downer’s visit to Semarang and Yogyakarta. ”One day trip to Semarang”, he told me. ”Also to Yogyakarta. It will be only one day. We can go back and forth just one day”. I suggested Morgan. I also told that I preferred one day trip to Yogyakarta as well like we did in Semarang. He didn’t direclty respond my suggestion. He was thinking. ”I think it will be more relax if we leave for Yogyakarta on Tuesday evening. Please book on Tuesday night, and find good hotel”, he told me. Now, I realized that his suggestion had saved me from the crash. If I insisted to get on morning flight on Wednesday, I couldn’t imagine what happened to me.

Unfortunately, Morgan himself missed evening plane he wanted. He covered Downer’s visit to pesantren in Bekasi at 15.00. While he asked me to go directly to airport and waited for him there. It never crossed in my mind, that it would be our last direct conversation and meeting with him at Shangrila hotel. Some felt strange actually with Morgan’s coverage to Bekasi. Some questioned about his act. AFR is business paper, visit to pesantre was not the main issue for AFR.

I remembered when we were on executive lounge Garuda in Jakarta airport, Morgan told me that the coverage in Semarang would be boring. I thought visit to pesantren would be boring too for him. But he did that.

Everything seemed to have been arranged. He missed the plane. He got Adam Air ticket, but scary to fly it. Asked me to book waitlist on Garuda in the morning, but failed. He got ticket from Liz of Australian embassy and flied with Garuda. If he flied with me, I always booked him near emergency exit. As he didn’t fly with me, he got non-emergency seat. It’s very unusual. It was like signs after the incident happened. But we didn’t realize it before. That’s said as fate perhaps.

Yogyakarta would be a special town for him. After arrival in Jakarta, Yogyakarta was the first town he visited in Indonesia for learning bahasa. I think he loved this town as he extended his stay for couple weeks before back to Jakarta. Yogyakarta was also his last town he visited in Indonesia. I don’t know It seems all things he experienced linked each other.

I am sure you will leave unforgettable memory for all of us.
We will miss u.


Retno I Palupi
Assistant to Morgan Mellish in Jakarta