Sutopo: Humanitarian Who Lit the Way

NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

· 4 minutes read

A person’s life should benefit others. This is a humanitarian value that Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, 49, had held to since childhood and continued to practice, even as he battled a fatal illness.

Suharsono, Sutopo\'s 70-year-old father, looked stricken with grief as he gazed at the hundreds of floral greeting boards that lined the alley to a funeral home on Monday (8/7/2019) in Siswodipuran village, Boyolali regency, Central Java. The floral boards expressing messages of condolence for his son, the spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), had been arriving since Sunday (7/7).

"I had no idea that so many [felt so much] for my first son. These are the fruits of how Sutopo treated others during his lifetime," he said.
Sutopo liked helping people since he was a child. He also did not discriminate in whom he helped. "From problems with studying to other areas in which he was capable, he would try to help," said Suharsono.
Sambudi, 56, a neighbor, recalled how Sutopo was always the first to help, and how he helped Sambudi fetch water from the communal well behind Sutopo\'s childhood home. Without being asked, Sutopo always took the bucked from Sambudi and filled it with water.
"He also didn\'t expect anything afterwards. He was known as a friendly and very kind person," said Sambudi.
KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO
Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) officials salute to pay their final respects to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho during his funeral on Monday (8/7/2019) at Sasonolayu Cemetery in his hometown of Boyolali, Central Java. Sutopo, who died at a hospital in Guangzhou, China, after a two-year battle against cancer, was honored with a military funeral for his services as the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman and head of the BNPB data and public information center.
Kurniawan Fajar “Yoyok” Prasetyo, the current emergency at the Boyolali Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), often received Sutopo’s help. Yoyok had known Sutopo since they were children, and the two even attended the same school, the SMPN 1 Boyolali 1 state junior high school. The pair even shared the same desk in class.
"In the past, I wasn\'t very good at school. Topo [Sutopo] was brilliant. He always ranked among [the best students]. He was good at many class subjects. Maybe I was told to sit with him so I could become smarter," Yoyok mused.
Sutopo helped him study in class, and he often reminded Yoyok to study outside the classroom. Even when he went outside to play, Sutopo always brought his textbooks with him to read. Yoyok frequently visited Sutopo at home so they could study together.
Financial difficultiesSutopo\'s helpful character, his father said, developed naturally from the family\'s financial difficulties when he was a child. The family lived in a rented house with bamboo walls and a dirt floor. Suharsono was an elementary teacher, while his wife worked at the Boyolali Prosecutor\'s Office. "The worrying situation might have imbued him with a humanitarian spirit," said Suharsono.
Sutopo\'s strong commitment to helping others may have even helped him through the pain he suffered from his illness over the last few years. His wife, Retno Utami Yulianingsih, 48, said as much as she struggled to control her tears during his funeral. Her eyes filled with tears every time someone conveyed their condolences to her. Her hands clutched a handkerchief tightly throughout the service.
KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO
Mourners carry the coffin containing the remains of Sutopo Purwo Nugroho during a funeral procession on Monday (8/7/2019) in Boyolali, Central Java. Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) officials also attended the funeral in Sutopo’s hometown, where he was laid to rest at Sasonolayu Cemetery in a military funeral that honored his services as the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman and head of the BNPB data and public information center.
BNPB chief Doni Monardo, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and Boyolali Deputy Regent aid Hidayat were among the high-ranking officials who attended Sutopo’s funeral on Monday morning at Sasonolayu Cemetery in Siswodipuran village.
"Please pray [for him]. Bapak [My husband] was an ordinary person. Please forgive him for any wrongs and errors in his nature," Retno said softly.
Sutopo was the front man of the BNPB who provided the public with information on natural disasters. He carried out his duty even as he battled the lung cancer he had been diagnosed with in January 2018.Additional energy
Retno said her husband seemed to fill with renewed energy whenever he was disseminating information on the latest disaster.
"He felt that what was needed most during a disaster was fast and accurate information. However, many hoaxes spread and upset people. Bapak [My husband] empathized with the people in such situations," she said.
KOMPAS/JOHANES GALUH BIMANTARA
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho speaks about the increased volcanic activity of Mount Raung in East Java on 9 July 2015 while pointing to a monitor displaying data from the agency’s All-Hazard Warnings, Analysis and Risk Evaluation System, InAWARE, at the BNPB control room in Jakarta. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman and head of the BNPB data and public information center, who recently lost his two-year battle against cancer, was laid to rest on Monday (8/7/2019) in a military funeral at Sasonolayu Cemetery in his hometown of Boyolali, Central Java.
Sutopo\'s humanity shone every time he delivered accurate disaster information through a variety of channels. In addition to mainstream media, he also disseminated disaster information actively on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
While he appeared strong in the public eye, Sutopo complained about his illness privately to his wife, whenever the pain in his back and spine became unbearable.
As Sutopo’s body was laid to rest, his boss, BNPB chief Doni, said that Sutopo had dedicated his life to serving the nation and humanity. He was responsible for disseminating the latest disaster information, and he carried out this duty wholehearted to quell the people’s fears and make them feel more at east. He ignored his own pain in serving the greater good.
KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman and head of the BNPB data and public information center, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, poses beneath the BNPB logo at the agency’s Jakarta headquarters.
"We have lost a champion of humanity. Hopefully, other Sutopos will be born [to take his place]," said Doni.
Farewell, Pak Topo, farewell, our champion of humanity

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