Commentary: Remembering Muhammad Ali’s Visit to Indonesia
Jakarta. Cassius Marcellus Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 after he converted to Islam. The legendary boxer became famous in many parts of the world including Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation.
Although there may have been less media coverage at the time, Muhammad Ali actually visited Indonesia three times in his life.
On his first visit in 1973, a promoter brought the phenomenal boxer to Indonesia to fight Dutch heavyweight boxer Rudi Lubbers, in preparation for Ali’s rematch against Joe Frazier.
Ali beat Lubbers after 12 rounds to an Indonesian audience full of cheer, who had more reason to route for Ali as they disliked anyone associated with the country that once colonized Indonesia.
Ali's second trip to Indonesia was in 1981 on special invitation of then-president Suharto, but it was after he hung up his boxing gloves and retreated from the world of boxing.
His third visit was very memorable for me, when he arrived in Indonesia on Oct. 20, 1996 and stayed here for eight days.
This time, the purpose of his visit was part of an Islamic mission as part of the brotherhood of Islam, since after his resignation from the boxing world, he devoted himself towards more social and religious activities.
On first impression, the former world boxing champion looked so modest, but amazingly was full of humor. He arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jakarta where other journalists and I were waiting for him.
He was escorted by bodyguards and wore a gray and white shirt and had folded sunglasses tucked into his shirt.
I was one of the journalists fortunate enough to be approached by the superstar. Unexpectedly, he pulled out his left hand and managed to grab my hair and immediately stood in a pose as though he wanted to punch me in the face with his fist.
Although I was confused, I managed to hold his fist which was double the size of mine, and I shook his hand in a manner known in Indonesian as Salam Komando (command handshaking), or a gesture typically done by those in the military.
The other journalists found the incident funny and immediately started roaring with laughter while others started chanting “Ali! Ali! Ali!"
During the press visit, Ali said he thought Indonesia was a unique country and said: “The people are very friendly and always smile at anyone,” He also said he had tried using a becak (rickshaw) to get around and explore Jakarta.
On June 3 this year, Ali passed away and was subsequently buried in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, with many world leaders attending his funeral procession, including former US president Bill Clinton, presidential candidate Donald Trump and former promoter Don King. Others in attendance were actors Will Smith and soccer star David Beckham who became close to Ali after many charity events.
Although my encounter with Ali was brief, I shared an ample amount of admiration and respect for him. To me, he was not only a legendary boxing player who could mix martial arts with his boxing technique, but more importantly, he had a strong sense of social awareness and empathy for others and was a symbol of courage.
Heri Gagarin is a veteran photo journalist at Investor Daily and BeritaSatu Media Holdings. He worked at national-daily newspaper Harian Merdeka (now Rakyat Merdeka) when reporting Muhammad Ali’s visit to Indonesia in 1996.
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