"Learning" Economic Policy Practice
JOGJAKARTA (KU) – Two cups of coffee had been already drunk by her. A small plate containing apem cakes and grated coconut was left on her desk. There was a glass of water, near it some reports were well-organized. This petite lady with hair extending down to her shoulder smiled to greet Kabar UGM reporter although in her eyes we can see signs of fatigue and sleepiness. "Last night, I had to accompany Pak Bud who opened the ISEI (Indonesian Economist Association) meeting in Bandung," Denni Purbasari SE, M.Sc., Ph.D., said when met two weeks ago at the 2nd floor of Main Building of the Vice Presidential Palace complex on Merdeka Selatan Street.
Since last year, Denni’s activity has increased. The lecturer of Faculty of Economics and Business of Universitas Gadjah Mada, now has a new task, to help special staff of Indonesian Vice President, Prof. Dr. Boediono. Her appointment itself was upon a direct request from Pak Bud, as Prof. Budiono is usually called. Then, what’s Denni task? "To learn things," Denni said curtly.
At a glance, Pak Bud’s request to Denni is very simple. Pak Bud expected her to learn much from other members of special team who are young economists. "Denni, you have to learn a lot here, beyond textbooks, beyond journals and beyond theory," said Denni imitating what Pak Bud said the other day. She can still remember that it happened a few days after SBY – Boediono were officially declared winning the Election 2009.
As one of the special staff assistants to the Vice President, Denni has much to learn, identifying, analyzing and formulating economic policy-making at central government level. "Pak Bud asked me to learn a lot here because this is where the actual practice of how economic policy is formed. So, I added one personal intention, that I would learn a lot about what Pak Bud called as the practice of economic policy," the fourth child of five siblings said.
Gaining Doctoral Degree at 30 Years Old
It has been nearly a year for Denni to work with Pak Bud, but, she remains puzzled when asked why he had appointed her. Denni even felt she was not that close to him. She remembers that she had met him only twice before the assignment. First was at a gathering in the Faculty after Eid. Second was during a doctoral exam of one student under their supervision. "Up to now I don’t know the reason, please just ask him directly," she said, smiling.
To try to answer this question, perhaps we just need to observe her work history. She completed her doctoral program (Ph.D) from the Department of Economics, University of Colorado at Boulder in the United States in 2006 when she was 30 years. Previously, she completed her master’s program in the same campus within one year.
Gaining a doctoral degree abroad at the age of 30 is special. Competition was tight, the scholarship did not cover everything, and the target date for graduation had been strictly set by the sponsor. But, she finished all that. In fact, she graduated with GPA 3.75. Concurrent with that, she received the Student Teaching Award in 2006 from the Department of Economics, University of Colorado at Boulder, U.S.
For her dissertation, Denni reviewed international trade and development. To complete a doctoral education, Denni admitted that we must be willing to sleep only four hours a day. Not surprisingly, she spent 14 hours a day to study and work on the problems. "Last time when taking my Ph.D., I slept less than four hours. I studied 14 hours. I spent much time on books and exercise. Now, I get 5-6 hours of sleep, so it’s not good," she said.
After she completed her doctorate, Denni only imagined that she would do teaching and research as a teacher should. Luckily for Denni, not long after returning to Indonesia, she was nominated by her Dean (Prof. Ainun Naim, MBA, Ph.D) to be a member of team assisting the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani. Three years she spent working in the Ministry of Finance. "For me, it was too fast after my 7 years in the US, a lot to learn about Indonesia. But for me, it was part of the duty and an honor to be nominated and get elected, thank God," said Denni who worked there between 2006 – 2009.
Ready to Standby
As a special expert staff of economics, Denni helps the economic special staff of the Vice President, Dr. M. Ikhsan and Dr. Farid Hariyanto. Her tasks are providing input information to the special staff, such information is then discussed together before being submitted to the Vice President. "The answer is yes and no when we’re asked if our job is to give feedback. For the level as high as a Vice President, information must be numerous and comprehensive. What we give may only be a small part of all the input that comes from various stakeholders," she said.
According to Denni, special staff of Vice President deal more with the economy. By coincidence, Prof. Budiono’s background is economics, that explains why economic affairs are delivered to the vice-presidential staff. "We all know, there is no special staff to deal with the economy for the president. The special economic staff deals with food, infrastructure, energy, gas, etc.," said the woman who is still unmarried.
In the vice president’s office, Denni works from 8 am to 4 pm. But she must always be ready when needed because the Vice President had personally selected her. "I think we must always be ready. Sometimes the tasks arrive at 17:30 and we have to work until 02:30 hours," she explained.
Simple-looking
Despite her position in the Vice President’s office, it does not make a difference to Denni. Her appearance remains modest. She does not put on her makeup. Even her hairpin can be found in the traditional market.
Her simplicity may stem from the simple appearance of the Vice President himself. In the eyes of Denni, Pak Bud is an insightful economist who does something with prudence. Not only that, he is also a good writer. "His carefulness, his insight, he does not always follow the mainstream. He likes to ask simple things but which are difficult to answer. And he writes excellently. I didn’t know that Pak Bud is a good writer," she commended.
Denni spares some of her time teaching at UGM every weekend. Every night, she also has to teach students of Master of Management in Jakarta.