[Kabar-indonesia] Obituary: Riswandha Imawan - renowned political scientist

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Saturday, August 5, 2006

Obituary: Riswandha Imawan

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Riswandha Imawan, one of the country's most renowned political scientists, 
died Friday of a heart attack. The Gadjah Mada University (UGM) professor was 51.

Riswandha complained of breathing difficulties while administering a final 
test at the university, fellow UGM School of Social and Political Sciences 
faculty member Ari Dwipayana said.

"He was complaining about his difficulty in catching his breath. He had been 
very, very busy this week," Ari told The Jakarta Post at Riswandha's house in 
Minomartani, Sleman, Yogyakarta.

He collapsed at noon at Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport after checking in for 
a flight to Kupang, where he had a scheduled lecture Saturday with fellow UGM 
scholars Cornelis Lay and Pratikno.

Although he was revived at nearby Panti Rini Hospital in Kalasan, he again 
experienced breathing problems.

"Suddenly his heart stopped beating. The hospital's medical team tried to 
revive him but failed. He passed away at 1.45 p.m.," said Ari, who was with him 
at the hospital.

He is survived by his wife and three sons.

Riswandha, according to Ari, had suffered from diabetes for the past two 
years, but did not have a history of coronary problems.

Born in Bangkalan, Madura, on Jan. 17, 1955, Riswandha emerged in recent 
years as one of the most respected analysts of the country's political situation 
and a strong proponent of democratization, including in the country's political 
parties.

With a doctorate in comparative politics from Northern Illinois University, 
he joined the faculty at UGM in 1980. He was head of the governmental science 
department at his death.

He was a member of the commission that drafted the bill on the direct 
election of the president and vice president in 2002, and also the team for the 1999 
regional administration bill. He also served as special staff at the 
secretary-general's office of the Home Ministry in 2003, and on the team for evaluating 
the area of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam the same year.

"I think we have lost a brave, critical intellectual in this field," Ari said.

Colleagues praised Riswandha -- who received the Satyalancana state honor for 
service to the country in 2000 and in April this year -- for his ability to 
put the complexities of political language and theory into plain terms 
understandable to the general public.

"As a scientist, I think he was quite successful in this," said the dean of 
UGM's School of Social and Political Sciences, Mohtar Mas'oed.

"He could provide easy to understand interpretations to the public. And he 
was very productive as well. He was one of those who could successfully make use 
of the media to explain things to the public."

He described Riswandha as an amiable friend and colleague.

"In our faculty, he was known as someone who was always cheerful and easily 
made others happy. He liked to kid I was one of his sparring partners in this 
particular matter," Mohtar said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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