R 030950Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2036

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000613 
 
 
STATE FOR S/P, EAP - MARCIEL, EAP/PD - RFERGUSON-AUGUSTUS, EAP/MTS, 
ECA/A/S/A - DMORA, ECA/A/E/EAP - WBate 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL ID
 
SUBJECT:  TOP INDONESIAN FOUNDATION WANTS U.S. PARTNERSHIP ON HIGHER 
EDUCATION 
 
¶1. (SBU) During Secretary Clinton's visit to Indonesia she supported 
an expanded bilateral relationship in the field of education.  Our 
challenge: to cultivate sustainable educational partnerships between 
the U.S. and Indonesia by expanding university partnerships and 
increasing the number of Indonesians studying in the U.S. and 
Americans studying in Indonesia.  Indonesia's Sampoerna Foundation 
presented Ambassador Hume with a huge opportunity: Sampoerna offered 
$30 million to build a higher education partnership contingent on a 
matching contribution in the form of goods and services from a U.S. 
University.  We should give serious consideration to this proposal 
and seek funds to match Sampoerna's.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The U.S.-Indonesia comprehensive partnership can establish 
thriving links and a network of U.S. engagement that goes beyond 
traditional government to government diplomatic ties.  Post defined 
its challenge as finding reliable Indonesian entities able to 
advance an educational partnership in a sustainable way, and 
committed to creating independent, reasoned citizens in a modern 
pluralistic society. The Sampoerna Foundation is an educational 
partner of the highest merit. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Sampoerna Foundation (SF) operates the first large 
scale, secular, private educational foundation in Indonesia. SF is 
ardently committed to advancing education, especially to 
intellectually able but impoverished youth across Indonesia. The 
foundation is funded by one of the wealthiest families in South East 
Asia, who personally know the cost of ethnic and religious 
intolerance (e.g., 1998 riots targeting Chinese Indonesians). Their 
deep commitment to non-ethnic and secular philanthropy is grounded 
not only in altruism, but by a need to ensure that their country is 
a mature tolerant society based on rule of law that will protect 
their own interests as part of an ethnic minority. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The immediate higher education level goal is a modern 
secular university, sufficiently staffed and endowed to offer joint 
degrees from Indonesia and the U.S., and accessible to students from 
all income levels. Successful graduates will be economically and 
professionally successful citizens with values of civic morality and 
secular engagement. The Sampoerna Foundation enjoys an international 
reputation based on awarding scholarships to Indonesians for study 
at universities in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. But it 
contends that deep social development cannot be based on those few 
students allowed to attend overseas universities. Post concurs. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In meetings with Ambassador Hume, Sampoerna Foundation 
Chief Putera Sampoerna commented that the new administration's 
positive reputation here offered a one time opportunity to reinvent 
the relationship, based on a mutually beneficial education 
partnership. Putera Sampoerna made a personal commitment to 
Ambassador Hume to be an Indonesian partner to achieve our mutual 
education goals.  Sampoerna cited the Foundation's deep knowledge 
and extensive business experience in Indonesia over many decades and 
gave clear reasons as to why a new path was needed.  He said the 
effectiveness of bilateral and multilateral assistance to Indonesia 
has been uneven because of the sole reliance on host government 
contacts. SF sees itself as more a long-term steward than temporary 
resident or donor. Putera Sampoerna concluded with a dramatic 
challenge: $30 million U.S. dollars to build the partnership 
contingent on a matching contribution in the form of goods and 
services from a U.S. University or other U.S. sources. He wants a 
long term partnership with a U.S. university that will include 
faculty exchanges, research development, and administrative advice 
with shared best practices. SF already has licenses, approvals, 
initial faculty and curriculum for the first departments and the 
first tertiary students could enter within seven months. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Foundation has identified the ideal type of U.S. 
partner as one with experience operating a university level program 
with departments of agriculture, engineering, applied research and 
teacher education focused on preparing teachers for careers in rural 
or less advanced areas. Sampoerna Foundation specifically asked the 
embassy to open discussions with Iowa State University (due to a 
recent Iowa trade delegation meeting) but also showed openness to 
other major land grant institutions. They also noted they were 
meeting with Georgetown on specific religious and political study 
projects. They emphasized the core goal of the Government of 
Indonesia and Foundation to expand the number and competence of 
Indonesian teachers. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Hume authorized an embassy officer to meet with 
Iowa State administration leadership during the officer's other 
travel in the region. Sampoerna Foundation and Iowa State University 
held meetings with department heads, chancellor level 
administrators, and Foundation leaders to discuss a proposed 
educational partnership. The results were impressive.  The 
University and SF held multiple telephone meetings and exchanged 
information culminating in a March 15, 2009 visit to Indonesia by 
Dr. David Holger, Dean of the Graduate School and Dr. David Whaley, 
Dean of the School of Education paid for by the University and 
hosted by SF. The foundation organized visits to their sponsored 
high schools and foundation offices as well as meetings with the 
founders and a reception at their headquarters. Guests included 
Ambassador Hume and embassy staff from multiple sections. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Iowa State officials privately told Ambassador Hume 
that this was a high priority for their president and their long 
term mission as a public land grant university. The SF officials 
informed the embassy that the founder and foundation president will 
travel to Iowa for further discussions in April and then would like 
to meet USG officials in Washington from State, USDA, USAID, or 
other relevant agencies. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The importance of this potential partnership and saliency 
of USG support arises from the nature and vigor of the Indonesian 
partner. Partnering with the Sampoerna Foundation is an opportunity 
to further a partnership not dependent on the host government yet 
capable of assuring host government support due to the prominence of 
the foundation and its economic role. The Foundation sees the USG as 
key to fostering a successful, thoughtful, and effective program 
that will allow us to achieve multiple USG strategic goals. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Major benefits to the U.S. include ongoing and significant 
U.S. exports of professional services, placement of well educated 
Americans abroad, access to and dissemination of applied research, 
and a model for U.S. tertiary partnerships with civil society. The 
other USG benefit is a future corps of Indonesian and American 
faculty, administrators, and graduates, skilled in the technical 
fields of agriculture, engineering and education with a deep 
knowledge of the resources and language of a strategic South East 
Asian country.  The partnership is modeled on sustained U.S. 
tertiary education structures and experience where the federal 
government role is not dominant but merely supportive and additive 
to the core parties and beneficiaries. 
 
¶11. (SBU) This partnership will create a critical network of 
personal relationships and partnerships.  This is neither an easy 
task nor within our traditional statecraft and public diplomacy 
structures.  We are still analyzing where our assistance and role 
will be most effective. The next clear USG action is to assist a 
committed major U.S. land grant institution to enter into this 
partnership with Sampoerna and meet the challenge of their offer. 
 
ACTION REQUEST:  that the State Department meet with Putera 
Sampoerna at appropriately high-level when he visits Washington in 
April. 
 
HUME