Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, The President Of The Republic Of Indonesia Who When He Was Young Had A Hobby Of Playing Roller Skates

The 3rd former President of the Republic of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, who turned out to have a hobby of rollerblading at a young age. (Between)

JAKARTA - Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie's interest in science is second to none. He grew up as a skeptic. Moreover, he was born in a family that cares about education. Habibie's needs for study were often met.

The same goes for hobbies. His parents never limited Habibie's hobbies. Including when young people are infatuated with rollerblading. The game became Habibie's favorite in his spare time. From childhood to migrate to Makassar and Bandung.

The seeds of Habibie's genius (later: known as the 3rd President of the Republic of Indonesia) have been seen since childhood. The fourth child of nine siblings grew up as a chatty person. All kinds of questions can be asked to anyone. To satisfy curiosity, Habibie thought.

His father, Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie, was happy that his son grew up with high skepticism. Whenever Habibie asked, his father always tried to answer. Explanations with examples that are easy to understand are the lessons.

Sometimes his father can answer smoothly. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming. However, his father was never tired. He and his wife, Raden Ayu Tuti Marini Puspowardojo, actively equip Habibie with an additional ability: reading and writing.

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie with his wife who is a doctor, Hasri Ainun Bestari. (Wikimedia Commons)

That skill paid off. His skepticism towards science was immediately diverted to books. He can sit for hours to devour the contents of a book. From story books to encyclopedias. His parents did not forget to facilitate all the needs of their children in learning. He bought the books that Habibie wanted.

As a counterweight, his parents also balance giving Habibie an equally large playing space. Habibie was freed to run all kinds of games that had more challenges. Alias a game that requires more challenges to conquer, or has a competitive content.

"Another habit of Habibie is that he likes to play games that have challenges. For example, while playing on the beach not far from his house, little Habibie made a palace made of sand. When the big waves came, the palace he had built was destroyed. He's trying to find out why."

“Habibie also used to play chess by himself. He feels and thinks that the more difficult thing in playing chess is to beat himself. The point is, from every game he plays, Habibie always tries to find the main problem," said Jonar TH Situmorang in BJ Habibie's book, Si Jenius (2017).

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie in the Netherlands. (Wikimedia Commons)

Habibie's Roller Skates

Habibie's knowledge is increasing over time. So are his hobbies. Habibie is increasingly challenged to try a variety of new games. Moreover, when the fever of roller skating hit the archipelago in the 1940s. He was also provided by his parents a roller skate. Even though rollerblading was a fairly exclusive game in its day.

His habit of rollerblading carried over when he moved from Pare-Pare to Makassar in 1945. Habibie's arrival to Makassar was nothing but to follow his older brothers to study. Because, in Pare-Pare there are not many quality schools. Every afternoon, Habibie and his older friends often play roller skates.

"I like living at Pak Supardi's house (the father of the boarding house in Makassar) because the environment is comfortable, here I continue my habit of rollerblading with my older friends," said Habibie as written by A. Makmur Makka in his Mr. Biography book. Crack from Pare-Pare (2018).

Habibie, who is usually called Rudy, is starting to become an avid roller skater. He felt his adrenaline increase while rollerblading. Even rollerblading is full of challenges. Through potholes, one of them. Because of this, Habibie often chose to skate instead of cycling.

Former President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie with President Jokowi. (Twitter/@kemensetnegri)

The story itself comes from his younger brother who is also a true friend, Junus Effendi Habibie (Fanny Habibie). He said that even though he and Habibie both had bicycles when they moved and went to school in Bandung, Habibie still chose to skate. Meanwhile, Fanny remains faithful to choose to ride a bicycle.

Habibie's ability to skate is quite good. His snaking action with roller skates often invites admiration. In fact, the people who often watched the action on roller skates applauded.

“In Bandung, Rudy still likes to play Meccano. His hobbies haven't changed since he was little. If there was money, Rudy would buy Meccano. This steel toy has a driving gear element complete with engine elements so that it can make various constructions, such as robots and building lifting equipment. The Meccano he bought was then assembled into an airplane.”

“Rudy also spends a lot of time skating. At that time, roller skates were not owned by many people. Almost every afternoon, Rudy plays half-wheel on Jalan Imam Bonjol. His skill going down the road, swerving to avoid small holes on Jalan Imam Bonjol often invites admiration and applause from those who witness it," concluded Gina S. Noer in the book Rudy: The Story of the Visionary Youth (2015).