Interview with the acting Indonesian ambassador, mr. Umar Hadi

Photography: Armando Ello

Van 1 tot en met 7 april staan er weer witte tenten op het Malieveld, van de tweede Pasar Malam Indonesia. Dit evenement ter promotie van Indonesië, trok vorig jaar in vijf dagen tijd 35.000 bezoekers. Na dit succes wilde ik er meer over weten. Wat zijn de toekomstplannen, wat kunnen we dit jaar verwachten en: hoe verhoudt de 2e PMI, die dit jaar zeven dagen duurt, zich tot die andere Pasar in mei, de Tong-Tong Fair? De heer Umar Hadi, waarnemend ambassadeur voor Indonesië, had de antwoorden – in het Engels.

Seven days of Indonesia in The Hague
“Given the success of the Pasar Malam last year, we are very optimistic.”, vertelt de ambassadeur me trots. “We currently already have over 50 exhibitors with authentic products from Indonesia, all small and medium sized enterprises, from all over Indonesia. Also, several cities will come to present itself, like Solo, Surabaya, Pekalongan, where the original batik comes from. We extended it to seven days. The exhibitors said ‘You know, we traveled a long way from Indonesia, with so many things, five days is too short.’ So we managed to secure the Malieveld for seven days. In the future, I hope this Pasar will be institutionalized.”

Dan glimlacht hij. “What is very interesting is that the first feedback from last year’s visitors was ‘Please have more food stores!’ Last year, we had 22 foodstores, this year we have 35. So more food stores and more variety, with food from Menado, Java, Ambon, Sumatra, all authentic food. Also there will be a cooking demo, probably this year from North-Sulawesi. And hopefully more maratabak sellers: I heard that people had to wait an hour last year for martabak. That is too long! Since this is not a commercial event, the meals are very very cheap, but of good quality. It is funded by the Indonesian government, we don’t take profits from the exhibitors or the food stores. They have no costs, so they can ask low prices.”

“We are very grateful for the support and help of the authorities in the Hague. The mayor, the police, the EHBO, the fire dept, the sanitary dept, they have been very cooperative. Because, for example, the Indonesian food stores, you cannot simply put the Dutch standards to that, you know. But at the same time, the cooks work very hard to meet all the standards. In good cooperation with the authorities, we want to organize an Indonesian promotional event with the highest standards according to European regulations, both in hygiene and security. We spare no efforts. Since last year, some improvements will be made. It will be a very safe place. But we try not to sacrifice the taste of the food!”

A program with food, discussion and cultural performances
“Also, this year we will have a special venue, ‘Indonesia today’, a forum for small group discussion.  This is a new ambition, besides from food and cultural performances. I think people will be very ecited about these performances. We will have experts from Indonesia, about how democracy is growing, for example. And about how micro-finance is developing in Indonesia. The governor of north-Sulawesi will give a presentation about the opportunities to invest or trade with this region.”

The Hague and Indonesia – connected by a shared past
Umar Hadi benadrukt: “Pasar Malam Indonesia is in no way a competitor to the great Pasar Malam Besar Tong-Tong. Tong-Tong has been there for fifty years, we just started. The basic difference is that PMI is a promotional event. We are not looking for profit. We simply want to introduce the authentic Indonesian, regional products. I think the two events can be complementing each other. And, for the city of the Hague, it means two pasar malams instead of one!”

Dan legt hij uit waarom de ambassade vorig jaar voor een pasar Malam gekozen heeft. “The Hague is proud of itself as an international city, a city of peace and justice, and Indonesia represents the way diverse people come together in a nation, in a peaceful way. We try to build a better future with more justice, democracy and economy growth. The Indonesian embassy would not organize an event like this in, for example, Brasil. “

“But in this city, in this country, I believe there is 10% of the population, that is some 1,5 million people, that have something to do with Indonesia. And the pasar malam as an event is already a tradition in so many cities in the Netherlands. The mission of the Indonesian embassy is to promote trade, tourism and investment in Indonesia. Instead of organizing a promotional event called ‘Indonesia, investment, trade and tourism promotion, why not just call in Pasar Malam Indonesia?’ It is easier, it sounds familiar to many people and it is a fun way of doing things.”

“You asked me about the future. I have a dream actually. I will just share this, with the hope that the authorities will read this.”