New Perspective - Interview Withmr. Jasmin Samat Simon

A New Perspective from Mr. Jasmin Samat Simon
To be Success is to be able to Share
By
Poppy Permata Sari
211010014 - English Department 2010

Abstract This paper is intended to describe the actual lesson of life through the interview with Mr Jasmin Samat Simon who is one of successful people in business as well as teaching. He is the man with the world perspective. Sharing is his call and he wants to give himself to others. He has been travelling around the world since he was a child. Being a social worker is all he is about. He is one of the few people who are willing to embrace the value of equality and humanity. His journey to teach and directly help the less fortunate voluntarily is indeed inspiring us to learn from him. As the one that I consider a successful person, I believe he represents the beauty of sharing knowledge as a wonderful thing. “The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another 's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.” (Buscaglia: 1924)
Key Words:
World Perspective, Sharing

Background Mr Jasmin Samat Simon is one of the few people whom I consider have different perspective about life. He is a Singaporean who is now working as the manager of Marketing Communication Directorate for Ma Chung University. I met him as he is my trainer for Ma Chung international debate team. He teaches practical thing about this world, life, speak-up, and so which is something I adore. The practical thing I obtain is definitely impressing and unique in his own way. I wonder what makes him become the one with such a brilliant idea and principle. What makes me even more surprise is the fact that he was the one that brought Indonesian Idol here. There are many things I would like to know about him and it is the reason why I am curious about. Mr Simon is a man with the world perspective. His spent his childhood traveling with his parents as they were diplomats and that have him the chance to meet many people from many different backgrounds. His parents taught him about the world perspective and anything as well as humanity and equality. Those values are what made him today.
He mostly travels up until now from one country to another. He was working to Fremantle Media; the worldwide entertainment organization, consulted to UNICEF for a special learning project in Papua, and also was a theatre and television actor with a degree in drama from Trinity College, the University of London. He helped found the home-grown theatre troupe Act 3. Literally, he spends his entire life for social working to implement his value of sharing and serve other people. In his late 40’s Mr Simon still actively spreads his passion to meet people, to share with them. His principles about life, and also his perspective is one of the few radical people who can truthfully hold that virtue and bring it for everyone, no matter your background is. What we can learn about him is indescribably amazing and it is such a great opportunity to know him personally.

The Value of Humanity – Success and Share with others
In order to know about his ideas of being a successful person, the writer has proposed some questions. His world perspective allows them to embrace the value of humanity and also equality. His commitment to teach and share with others is something worth learning for. 1. Please tell me a bit about yourself, your present job or the previous one.
Okay. My name is Jasmin, I am commonly the manager for Marketing Communication in Universitas Ma Chung. That is my prime assignment; I know I also have to teach several subjects based on my experience. I have done teaching in Business Ethics for Ma Chung. Otherwise I am usually consulted on based on either education or youth development. Prior to coming to Malang, I was assigned as consulted to UNICEF for long distance learning project in Papua. Well, because it is a special kind of project where young people cannot directly go to schools, they have to learn through the medium of televisions. Why I was chosen because prior to that job I spent the last 10 years developing TV programs for Fremantle Media, that is a worldwide entertainment organization. So, what was important is how to introduce entertainment into learning for Papua students because they have the objective that these Papua students have to be away without teachers, they have to watch the video, and learn from there. And then report once a week or fortnight in a writing form. I do not have to teach, I have the concept and the rest is done by them. I spent nearly about 1, 5 years for that project.

2. Fremantle Media is the one that create Indonesian Idol too, right?
Yes, Freemantle Media was the one that brought the concept. The idol franchise is the product of the company. Fremantle Media is based in UK for the creative content and we travel good shows like that around the world. So Idol itself has been produced in over 54 different countries including Indonesia.

3. Do you mind telling me about your background? Educational background or family background?
I do not know what to say, but I can try. I have traveled around the world only because my parents were diplomats. So I traveled with them. I was the lucky few people that got a chance to travel with them. Although the lifestyle was slightly different, it does not mean you do not have many childhood friends because you have to travel, change, and the other people also come and go at the same time. So I grew up in many different countries, technically because of that. Dad has given me of what I call the world perspective, but I think beyond that my parents were very open people. I think they were born way ahead of that time. They passed away recently. I think for them to be active in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, I think they were thinking like people who are thinking now. So that is why I thought they were very open. They always embrace youth as well as humanity as a whole to create equality to find stability and peace within the differences in faith, religion, and all that came with them. So what I am now today is very lucky of what they were. Sometimes I do speak like my dad which is very scary. I am a mixture of I think my mom and my dad. My dad is a very serious person and my mom is a hard-party person. So that is a good combination, whenever there is a party in the house, there were a lot of parties in the house, it is mommy’s business. And if the was serious thing to deal with, it is daddy’s job. So I think I am half of each. Dad has given me a lot of perspective of travel as well. I literally have traveled everywhere around the world, even as an adult later on after finishing schools in Singapore. So I studied in the UK as well. I went to 2 different ones. First I studied in Singapore with the National University of Singapore and took the Chemistry major. And then I went to the UK in Guildhall School of Music on Performing Arts. So it is a life balance, I think. My parents told me that you have to have everything in balance. The basic pure chemistry base is actually gives you a sense of details and research, and the dramatic performing things allow you to express yourself in a completely different style altogether. Then, I met my ex-fiancé Kyoko. She is a professional social worker from Japan. She is working for the Japanese foundation. That gave me another impulse to learn, to give myself more to other people and for that very same reason we both decided that we should become professional teachers. So we both took another layer of teaching degrees so that we can teach professionally around the world. Things happened and we decided not to be married, we had to go on separate ways and we are still doing what we know best. So the concept continues that we travel around the world and give ourselves to others on different skills. I have not been to India, Africa, and South America. Most of the places I have ever been. I really do not like just taking holidays in foreign countries. I usually move to a different country either to study there for minimum 6 months summer schools or longer than that. So I don’t think I can remember have taken holidays overseas, for the sake of holiday. So meeting people has always been my passion. And so that is why adjusting myself to Malang – a very small city - to meet people to understand different people is quite new for me. I have always been in bigger cities. Before coming to Indonesia I was working and living in New York, before that Toronto, Montreal, and Tokyo, so it was all big cities. So this is the first major change. But prior before coming to Malang I was thinking about Bali. It’s relatively small. Talking about the World address, when you write a letter that says Bali and it will arrive directly to the exact place. However if it is Malang, it will probably disappears somewhere else. So, it is the main driving force now.

4. Wow. I see it is very amazing. So, what is the biggest decision you have made in your life so far?
To try and resettle into a small city? I am still adjusting to it. Sometimes it is just like when you wake up in the middle of the night and there is no phone connection, or when you cannot get the right fragrance for yourself. I am not really into the brands but at least there must be some basic brands, but it is not here! The nearest one is 2-hours-drive to Surabaya. So it is something I am adjusting to. Although I claim myself as a big city person, a self-proclaim, big city boy into big city man and later big city person all around the world, I have to say that I needed the sense of what we call “new taste”. There are certain things that are quite consistent about those big cities. That might be the reason why I should try this little space.
Well, I think every single step along the way is always been a big decision. Facing life to me is a big decision. Every day when you wake up every morning and you have brand new page is a big decision. But I think it is a lot harder than you think when you have to deal what we call the entrapment of a small city.
Actually Singapore is small as well. You can go everywhere within 15-20 minutes, so is Malang. But I think the concept, the feeling that Singapore is very open, international-based city. I call Singapore as a ‘big mall’ while here, Malang is like a ‘big stadium’ where the event whatever activities happening in the stadium, all you see and that is all there is. The entire life is outside the stadium. There are some exciting activities bit it is not enough to entice you fully.

5. Is there anything you regret here?
I do not like to live with regrets. I do not consider a lot of things that I have passage through, and you have seen it in some other way. There is 24 hours a day, and there is hardly any time for regrets when actually there is so much to enjoy.

6. As I see you have experienced a lot of things. For you, what is the key of success?
I do not know of there is one key, but I think the more you do not look for it, the more it will be available for you. Because if you start looking for, you are wasting your time just looking for, rather than living through it. Because you have to make that success bit by bit, step by step. And the minute you hit one point, that is a whole new horizon of success to go for. So I think it is a never ending process, it is very much like the way to live. I do not consider life bragging much from point A to point B. It is a continuous journey of points. Life is a journey; when we are alive, growing, and discovering. It all leads to just one multitude experience you put together and most importantly after that is to share. Maybe if you like a definition, “To be successful is to be able to share.” If it is just within yourself, then it is not enough to expand. Sharing has become a wonderful thing; first it came from my parents, and when I met Kyoko it was also the same thing, and when I meet a lot of very intelligent people, they are also the same. Either I read it through books like I did not have the chance to meet Gandhi but he was also wonderful. And again his idea was not within, he shared, spoke it to the outside.

7. So who is your role model? Gandhi?
I have got quite a lot of role models. It is from my parents, that sounded very cliché right? But they were very very wonderful. As a grown up then I realize how much of their value is implanted in me that I firstly did not want it as a teenager. But later I thought that I just do not want to throw that away. There are many role models; Gandhi is one of them because Gandhi wisdom is the way of life. He is just one of the few people who work to talk and he believed in it and he also showed it. So this kind of people with strong passion that I admire, just like my parents. Literally, living with them is a mind-blowing. They can say things any time. As for Indonesia I discover some of the outshined simply as well as the others, the first president Soekarno. The fact that he was born to be a president, he had to grow up to be such a strong, dominant person. Also Nyonya Meneer, the lady that created the sacrifice for her husband. At the young age she had to create the jamu, because it is all she can do for her husband who was very sick. So that kind of people with profound visions ahead of the future was very great. And then there is Kartini who actually had to give up the most important thing of her life to prove to others her value. It is sometimes worth that sacrifice to show others the other way. The freedom, the emancipation she fought and finally she had to step just to say, “Don’t give up if you can because I know I had to.”
The simple thing I could remember as a kid was Borobudur. Whoever created that, whoever let the making of Borobudur, I wish I was there to say hello to that guy. It was far away from the source of rocks and it was inaccessible, and to transfer the religious level intact is tough in that period. What triggered him to create magnificent temple.
So all these things make me know that I have to live with legacy behind as well. So that when I am not in this world anymore, the others can learn something from me. That is my motivation of living every day.

8. After 5 months living here, I am sure you already know the typical student perspective in Malang. Do you have any advice for us in terms of learning English?
First, I think English learning becomes easier when you know why. Second, in today’s modern technology that you have, learning English is easier, and the other languages as well. So it is important to have those accesses but it is also important to go back to where it came from. To find the essence of English you have to go to the source as it also has some evolution in the process. So, to learn is not just to know the sounds, phonetics, but also to know the sense of its origin. In the other hand you also have to learn about the applications. You cannot learn something without learning how to apply it.

Critical analysis
According to Mr. Simon you will be considered as a successful person when you share your knowledge with others. As the proverb says, “Keeping knowledge erodes power. Sharing is the fuel to your growth engine.” If you only keep the knowledge within, you only enrich yourselves but you will not make the others enriched. From a very small contribution you make, it can be so much for others, especially for the less fortunate. Mr Simon shows us the beauty of sharing, volunteer, and so on. The impressive one is that “the more you do not look for it, the more it will be available for you, because if you start looking for, you are wasting your time just looking for, rather than living through it.”
Learning process starts from your family. Mr Jasmin tells us about his background earlier that because of his family’s perspective about life and mostly everything which is very open to accept differences, has brought him into the so-called World Perspective. Life is a continuous journey of points. Therefore, actually to be success is a never-ending process. You will always have something to go for every single day. What matters the most is not the result you always dream about, but most importantly is on how you decide to live through it, learn from it, and share it. Although the result is also important, it will be better to just give yourself fully on your commitment and your passion. Speak up to the things that are worth fighting for.
Mr Jasmin also mention what he wants when he is not even in this very world anymore, he wants to leave legacy for the people to learn from him. It is the major principle he holds to live every single day. In my opinion, it is also a form of sharing. Sharing knowledge means sharing your wisdom with someone else. Knowledge like happiness also grows with sharing. You should be humble enough to learn from others and share all the practical knowledge and information that you possess. This way, by sharing of knowledge with each other, the whole society can prosper as a single unit. In the words of Billy Graham, “We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.” Billy Graham implies that knowledge should not be hoarded, but should be shared and spread among others. Authors and writers all share the knowledge that they possess through their work. Wisdom and knowledge should be spread and shared so that each and every one in the society is aware and possesses some basic knowledge and level of intelligence. Overall, sharing of knowledge is a boon for the society and the society members.

As I learn from Mr Jasmin Samat Simon who gives himself fully for the social work, what makes him now naturally starts from his open-minded family. As a child, it is a natural thing to imitate and learn from your parents. I believe that he is aware of the fact that he is lucky to growing in such a very well-educated family. There are a lot of less fortunate somewhere in this world and that triggers him to decide his actual call about life. Work for the people, share with others, and teach the children. This whole perspective is something that I believe become his culture, whether it is learning, teaching or sharing. By sharing your knowledge, you gain more then you lose. Sharing knowledge is a synergistic process – you get more out than you put in. If I share a product idea or a way of doing things with another person – then just the act of putting my idea into words or writing will help me shape and improve that idea. From the interview with Mr Simon then I can take the benefits from his knowledge, from his unique insights to improve my ideas further. It is justified by David Gurteen, “The real answer is to help people see for themselves that knowledge sharing is in their personal interest. The old paradigm was “knowledge is power”. Today it needs to be explicitly understood that sharing knowledge is power.” I am sure that he represents one of Gandhi’s wisdoms “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” He manifests the wisdom through several journeys all over the world to the development of the children. I consider his journey as achievement without direct compliments in form of medallion or cash but more like an honourable award which will always last in the people’s hearts rather than in the eyes.

Conclusion
Everybody has different perspective which distinguishes them from one to another. Perspective creates passion for each person. In order to live with your passion, you have live through it to the fullest. Have nothing but the excitement of enjoying your life every day. Give yourself more to other people, share your knowledge. Learning and achieving success are not something that you can accomplish instantly. Therefore, see it in a way that it is more like a life cycle which never ends. Do not give up in fighting for knowledge. Great people have gained great knowledge by silently observing things with a deep desire inside to learn more and more. This has to be the learning culture as well as the sharing culture.

References
Green, R. (1996-2011). Quotations of Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved from http://mindprod.com/ethics/gandhi.html#EDUCATION
You Think Therefore You Exist. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thinkexist.com/English/Topic/x/Topic_1_2.htm
Gurteen, D. (1999). Creating A Knowledge Sharing Culture. Retrieved from http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ksculture

References: Green, R. (1996-2011). Quotations of Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved from http://mindprod.com/ethics/gandhi.html#EDUCATION You Think Therefore You Exist. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thinkexist.com/English/Topic/x/Topic_1_2.htm Gurteen, D. (1999). Creating A Knowledge Sharing Culture. Retrieved from http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ksculture