staff eavesdropping could not hear. ‘I thought I’d made it quite clear how I felt about that relationship?’
Bereft of an answer, Baird’s shoulders slumped, and he looked down at his feet, submissively.
‘He is just my very good friend, Pak,’ he said, knowing that he was on dangerous ground.
‘Is he the reason you don’t like Pipi?’ Subroto challenged.
‘No!’ Baird worried where this was leading. ‘I really do have deep feelings for Pipi, Pak, but I don’t want to take on any additional responsibilities until I know that I can handle these, financially.’ A wave of nausea threatened, and again Baird looked to the door for escape.
Subroto accepted the compromise. ‘Then don’t leave it too long, Eric,’ he admonished, ‘ladies like Pipi don’t grow on trees!’
‘I know, Pak, I know.’ Baird then mumbled something as he rubbed his stomach and grimaced, apologizing that he was not feeling well, and fled the office before Subroto could further advance their conversation.
****
Subroto squeezed into the Mercedes’ rear seat and instructed the driver to take him home. Fine, German engineering groaned underneath as the vehicle made its way through the congested city, heading south through Kebayoran Baru, through Kemang, and onwards to Cilandak. In pensive mood, the retired air force General leaned back into the deeply indented, leather seat and closed his eyes, pondering the import of Baird’s future involvement in terms of their consultancy arrangement.
When Baird had first come to him more than five years before, he had not hesitated in offering the young Australian geologist sponsorship, and the corporate structure to facilitate his business dealings in Indonesia. Subroto recalled that time of great excitement and promise, as the New Order, under President Suharto, forged ahead, dragging the country up to competitive speed with the emerging tiger economies of Singapore and Malaysia.
In the years following Suharto’s 1966 successful coup, Subroto had watched as many of the four hundred generals appointed under the Soekarno regime were either retrenched, or shifted to inconsequential positions. Fortunately, at the time of the bloodbath, he had been seconded to the AURI rocket program that had successfully launched the Kartika 1 the year before. The Air Force’s “Project Prima”, Indonesia’s rocket research project had been conceived with the intention of developing commercial and military rockets together with the Institute of Technology in Bandung, and P.T. Pindad, the Army weapons’ factory. Subroto had been instrumental in arranging for the Japanese cooperation which had seen the Kappa 8 rocket launched, also in the year preceding the turbulent period, predicted by one Indonesian Minister as becoming ‘The Years of Living Dangerously.’
Suharto’s armed forces had inherited a number of quasi, commercial structures put more into place out of expediency than sound planning, and dated back to the time of Soekarno’s Guided Democracy when regional commanders were forced to find their own means of funding operations and meeting personnel costs. As each of the Indonesian military arms vied for control over plantations, government owned hotels, sugar mills, banks, mining and timber concessions it soon became apparent that, without the necessary capital and management skills, these ventures would collapse. Even the Army’s Strategic Forces, Kostrad, which had been awarded the Volkswagen assembly and marketing agency in the early Sixties, benefited little from this opportunity.
After the Hughes Corporation had overseen the launch of Indonesia’s first series of satellites under the Palapa Program, Subroto became concerned with his future again, as contemporaries exited the armed forces en masse, many achieving civilian posts within the Suharto Cabinet, or appointments as governors, ambassadors and CEOs of Palace-controlled and TNI foundations.
Subroto had followed, apprehensively, as retiring air force generals were not in such great demand amongst the private sector. His one-off, lump sum pension payment was insufficient to maintain any reasonable norm of lifestyle, and certainly not one he had grown accustomed to whilst still a serving general. Consequently, he had turned to Kosgoro, one of the military-controlled cooperatives for a position, and was appointed as one of the many Komisaris advisors, to the Board of Directors. However, when (Danny) Dewanto Danusubroto, the Kosgoro President Komisaris was jailed for having the military murder his mistress not months after Subroto had joined the organization, Subroto wisely chose to move out on his own, where he met Eric Baird – and his fortunes instantly improved.
At first, their relationship had grown from strength to strength, Baird instrumental in delivering a number of substantial retainers that provided the former air force general with the wherewithal to reestablish his credentials. Within the year, Subroto had acquired a fully imported 450 Mercedes saloon (smuggled into the country by a Chinese expedition agent) and paid a nominal sum through the Veterans’ Association, to secure ownership of a Dutch Colonial home in Jalan Serang, Menteng. He renovated the residence and contracted the magnificent dwelling to one of his foreign clients, receiving a five-year, advance rental payment of three hundred thousand dollars, which he invested in property around the growing, expatriate suburbs of Kemang and Cilandak. But, influenced by Baird and his associate Kremenchug, Subroto had lunged into the stock market prior to the Independence celebrations on 17th August 1987, borrowing heavily to acquire mining stocks which Kremenchug claimed would double within the year. The following week, the markets peaked, and eight weeks later Subroto discovered that he had lost all that he had borrowed from the Asian Pacific Commercial Bank.
With cap in hand, he had approached the powerful Salima Family who maintained controlling interest in the APC Bank, and requested a two-year grace period before recommencing loan repayments. He was introduced to James Salima, the effective CEO of APC, and a deal was struck. Unbeknown to Eric Baird, his forty percent share in P. T. Subroto & Associates (which his sponsor had previously been held in trust) was surrendered to the wealthy Chinese, cukong family, and Subroto’s debt was forgiven.
Although his borrowings greatly exceeded the value of Baird’s stock in the company, the Salima group made it quite clear that Sub-roto could be called upon, at any time, to assist their family should the need arise. Subroto blamed his predicament on Kremenchug and would have arranged for the man’s visa to be cancelled had Baird not appealed, arguing that they were close to closing a deal which would recover all their losses. Against his better judgment, Subroto had agreed, now pleased that he had done so as Baird’s advice of that day seemed to support this decision.
Now, the only outstanding issue was having Eric Baird marry Pipi, which would not only satisfy his favorite niece, but would keep her mother off his back. With the Australian married into the family, the question of Baird’s shareholding in P.T. Subroto & Associates could be easily addressed. When the question arose, as he expected it would, Subroto would explain that Baird’s stock was then held in trust for his wife, Pipi, and who could argue with that?
Subroto knew that there had been no offspring from Baird’s former marriage, suspecting that neither would there be from his union with Pipi. This in no way offended the retired General – in fact, having the foreigner marry his sister’s daughter and not produce children resolved another family dilemma. Genetics had not been kind to Pipi’s father’s line; the incidence of Albino children running through that side of the family unusually high. All in all, Subroto thought, having Baird involved in business and the family, could only be a positive factor for all.
****
As Baird lay quietly contemplating his disastrous state of affairs, he recalled not having explained to Subroto that their stock in the new Canadian mining company would be held in escrow.
****
