Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine October 2019 | Page 64

Lifestyle / Interview
Aidir explains that during the lead-up
to the general election, the requirement
for a political party to become a legal
entity was to have a local management
team in a certain number of districts.
“But I decided it was sufficient for the
political parties themselves to manage
their own verification in each area, and
not necessary for me to visit all the
different regions,” he says. As a result,
Aidir explains, this new verification
process saved a lot of money.
Long before becoming a technocrat,
Aidir was a lecturer in the law faculty
at Hasanuddin University in Makassar,
where he taught for many years, from
1987. The 60-year-old father of three
says it was a “tradition” in his extended
family to enter into the profession of
teacher or lecturer. “So, several of my
siblings are also lecturers,” he says.
Not many people may be aware that
Aidir also worked as a journalist in
Makassar for a number of years. And
there was a reason for this choice of
profession. As someone who likes to
collect historical paintings, being a
journalist taught him to work quickly
because of the time limits involved.
"Journalistic work is like writing a work
of literature on water. It must be done
quickly before it becomes irrelevant,"
states Aidir.
Bureaucratic reform is one of the biggest dreams
of Aidir Amin Daud, former Inspector General of
the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
This is understandable, since during his 12 year
struggle with government red tape, Aidir saw
many things that needed to improve.
And what he witnessed was no
figment of the imagination. His book,
Cutting Bureaucracy, is a ‘reflection’
on the state of bureaucracy in Indonesia.
In this book, Aidir’s thoughts and
experiences from his time serving
in the Ministry of Law and Human
Rights are presented with great clarity.
Although he claims not to have done
much to improve bureaucracy in this
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country, Aidir is satisfied that he
managed to accomplish several
important things while holding
the position of Director of State
Administration for the Ministry
of Law and Human Rights, for the
period 2007 to 2009. One of these
achievements was to change the
verification system for political
parties participating in the 2009
general election.
When it comes to his foreign travel
needs, it turns out Aidir has been a
loyal customer of Garuda Indonesia
since the 1980s. He has received
many benefits from the GarudaMiles
Platinum loyalty programme. Along
with other members of his family,
Aidir has on several occasions used
the points from this programme to
fly, including a trip for the Umrah
pilgrimage.
“One of the most memorable
occasions, about three years ago,
was when I got a 90 per cent discount
on a flight to Jeddah. I immediately
booked three tickets for business
class,” recalls Aidir.
The doctor of law from Hassanudin
University has also enjoyed the
numerous advantages of the
GarudaMiles loyalty programme,
despite also holding a frequent flyer
card for another world-class airline.
“With the facilities of GarudaMiles,
I have enjoyed First Class service
three times, once to London and
twice to Saudi Arabia,” he says.