The Rector of Universitas Padjadjaran, Prof. Tri Hanggono Achmad, bestowed Mochtar Kusumaatmadja Award to an academic and diplomat from Singapore, Prof. Tommy Koh. Prof. Tommy Koh was considered to have the same career and dedication as Prof. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja in the field of international law.
The award was bestowed in Gedung Merdeka, Bandung, on Saturday (14/10). Those who were presented at the ceremony includes Prof. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja and family, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Fachir, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Rector of Unpad, directors of university and faculties, judges team, and the guests.
Prof. Tommy Koh was an academic from National University of Singapore (NUS). He served as the Dean of NUS’s Faculty of Law, lawyer, diplomat in various countries, and Singapore representative at the United Nations (UN). One of Prof. Tommy’s political careers that contributed a lot to Indonesia was when he served as the president of the Third United Nations Conference in 1980-1982. During the conference, Prof. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja managed to obtain acknowledgement from the world over his concept of Wawasan Nusantara, the acknowledgement of Indonesia as an archipelago state at the international level. It was the result of Prof. Mochtar’s struggle for 25 years.
Head Judge of Mochtar Kusumaatmadja Award’s, Prof. Dr. Etty R. Agoes, LLM, said that Prof. Tommy managed to carry out his duty as the president of conference. The conference often met dead end all the time.
Furthermore, Prof. Etty said that Prof. Tommy’s close relationship with Prof. Mochtar, careers and accomplishments in the field of international law made him worthy to receive Mochtar Kusumaatmadja Award. On the other side, Prof. Tommy also actively introduced Indonesian arts and culture in Singapore. Besides being an academic and practitioner, Prof. Tommy was also interested in arts and cultural heritage. He was also one of the National Arts Council’s founders and became the leader of various cultural institutions and national museum.
The Mochtar Kusumaatmadja Award is a form of appreciation for Prof. Mochtar’s dedication in the field of international law at both national and international levels. The concept of Wawasan Nusantara that Prof. Mochtar proposed became a strong guidance for Indonesia to show the country’s existence to the world.
During his speech, Rector said that Prof. Mochtar was a diplomat who puts a lot of attention on the border of Indonesia’s sovereignty. Starting from Deklarasi Djuanda, a concept of marine territorial border by Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja in 1957, Prof. Mochtar brought this concept to the international level.
Scholarly, Prof. Muchtar, now 88 years old, is an expert of maritime and international law. He was also once served as a diplomate and often became the negotiator in some historical events. In his professional career, he often represents Indonesia in several United Nations international conferences.
Prof. Muchtar was once served as the Dean of Unpad’s Faculty of Law and became the Rector in 1973. A year into his rector period, Prof. Muchtar was appointed as the Minister of Justice within Kabinet Pembangunan II (The Second Ministry of Advancement) between 1974 and 1978. He then continued as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kabinet Pembangunan III and IV (The Third and Fourth Ministry of Advancement) between 1978 and 1988.
The bestowal of Mochtar Kusumaatmadja Award was held simultaneously with International Seminar titled “Sustainable Development Goal 14 on Live below Water: What Can Indonesia Contribute through ITS Global Maritime Fulcrum Policy?” In this occasion, the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Unpad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the implementation of Three Pillars of Higher Education was also conducted.*
