The former Minister of State Secretariat, Moerdiono, passed away recently.  Considering his hugely important role as President Soeharto’s spoke person during the decades of the New Order era, I was rather surprised that his passing didn’t spark much interest both in the Media and the Twitterverse.  I guess it must have seemed a long time ago when the position that he held had any kind of importance and significance in this country.  

It must be remembered that during the Soeharto era, the president rarely, if ever, made any public press conferences or announcements on the television.  Moerdiono was the one to do it.  In his long, ponderous and painfully slow explanation, peppered with interminable uhms and ehs that was a nightmare for the TV reporter with limited cassette supply, to record.  
His way of public communication was in great contrast to today’s government officials’ natural propensity to speak first (or even Tweet first) and then think and vehemently deny later, style of issuing public statements.  Every time Moerdiono opened his mouth, one was in no doubt as to the gravity of the message that he was imparting, nor to the weight of responsibility that he shouldered in conveying such message to the nation.  The half-shut heavy lids of his eyes, the minimal movements of his hands and the low and barely audible tone of voice, devoid of contrasting decibels and signs of private emotions, all spoke of the seriousness of his task.  It would have been comical but for the fact that in those days, there was nothing funny or comical about the business of governing.