Dozens mourners joined the funeral procession on July 8, 2019
to transport the coffin carrying Sutopo’s body
to its final resting place at Sasonolayu Cemetery in Boyolali.
=-=-
An
outpouring of grief was palpable at the funeral of Sutopo,
the late (BNPB) spokesman, in Siswodipuran
subdistrict of Boyolali regency,.
Doni led the military funeral,
which saw the attendance of several notable figures:
The family and relatives of
the well-known and well-regarded BNPB
spokesman
tearfully
greeted the arrival of the hearse at his residence on Jl.
Jambu
Sutopo’s mother and his wife, fainted after welcoming the
hearse.
The two women had flown in from Jakarta for the
funeral.
Sutopo’s father, and Sutopo’s two sons, were clearly overcome by grief.
Sutopo was laid to rest at
Boyolali's Sasonolayu Cemetery.
he had been receiving treatment since June 15. He was
49.
He was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in
2017.
“What Pak [Mr.] Topo has
done is exceptional.
He dedicated his life to the country,
to the nation.
he had lost a great role model.
he was proud that his father did not complain about his illness,
recalling that in the midst of Sutopo's battle against
cancer,
his father made sure to make time for his family.
“I was shocked when I heard that my dad had
passed away,
because we had a video call not long before that
and he was OK.
Now, I am [ready] to let him go,”
=-=-
Sutopo: Farewell to a 'hero of humanity'
Sutopo, was known to many as Pak Topo,
He was the spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB),
He passed away on Sunday in Guangzhou, China, at 2:20 a.m. local time
after more than a year of battling lung cancer. He was 49.
A self-proclaimed passive smoker,
He was told by doctors in 2017 that
his stage-four lung cancer had spread
and was ordered to undergo intensive treatment,
which included chemotherapy every three weeks.
Despite the discouraging news, however,
He remained active as the frontman of the BNPB
who relayed disaster-related information to all of Indonesia for the next year.
— a country that sits on the volcanically active Pacific Ring of Fire —
“When disaster strikes, everyone needs valid information they can rely on,
and that kind of information must come from the BNPB.
If I [as the agency’s spokesman] can’t deliver that,
the public will receive hoaxes and fake news, causing panic,”.
On Feb. 28, Sutopo sent out an apology
for not being able to attend a press conference on a range of issues,
including a forest fire in Riau,
as his health had deteriorated.
However, he continued to update the press by sending official statements
in the following months,
even as he struggled with the pain of typing them.
He left for Guangzhou for further treatment in June
but succumbed to the disease on Sunday.
He was flown to Indonesia on the same day
and will be buried in his hometown of Boyolali,.
He is survived by his wife and two sons. (didampingi)
His death is not only a big loss for the agency but also for the nation.
“He’s a hero of humanity
who continued to serve the public even in sickness,”
. “May he rest in peace.” (semoga – mudah-mudahan)
Sutopo posted his last tweet June 15:
the Indonesian map marked with dots indicating the latest movement of clouds.
The post gained over 941 retweets and 3,132 likes,
with more than a thousand replies from the public sending their deepest condolences.
He was born on Oct. 7, 1969, in Boyolali to Suharsono Harsosaputro and Sri Roosmandari.
He graduated top of his class with a bachelor of geography
from Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in 1993
and later pursued a master’s and doctoral degree in hydrology
from the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB).
He started his career in public service with the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT) in 1994
before he was assigned to the BNPB in 2010.
Among his first tasks as the agency’s spokesman was
to relay information regarding a flood in West Papua, and earthquake in Mentawai, , and Mount Merapi’s eruptions in Central Java.
He received the Public Campaigner Award in 2014
and recognized as by the Straits Times as one of its Asians of the Year in 2018.
The public was also familiar with a different side to Sutopo,
who made it public that
he was a fan of Widodo and pop singer Raisa.
He was finally able to see his wishes granted on Nov. 1
when she met him in South Jakarta.
Prior to meeting Raisa, he was invited to the Bogor Palace on Oct. 5 by Jokowi,
Joko gave him a signed picture of the two together.
Both Jokowi and Raisa have expressed their deepest condolences at the passing of Sutopo.
“[...] Deep condolences for the passing of Bapak Sutopo PN,” she said in her tweet.
Jokowi tweeted a picture of him smiling next to Sutopo, saying:
“Life isn’t about how long or short it is
but how much we can help other people.”
==
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, disaster information's main man, dies at 49
(BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo passed away at 49
years old
in
Guangzhou, China, at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday
after battling stage 4 lung cancer for the past two years.
His death
was first announced by
x on its official Twitter account @PRB_BNPB on Sunday.
We ask for your prayers
for him,".
The news
was also confirmed by his eldest son, Ivanka Rizaldy, through his Instagram
account @
"Tonight, a hero and my beloved father, Sutopo,
has returned to God while undergoing treatment in Guangzhou, China.
To all friends and family,
we ask for your forgiveness and prayers for Pak Sutopo.
Thank you for everything that you have given me Pa,
I will always pray for you," he wrote, alongside a family portrait.
he departed to Guangzhou in June
to undergo treatment for his stage 4 lung cancer.
He gained respect from the nation for providing the latest information on natural disasters
on Twitter and Instagram,
even when he was at the hospital for his chemotherapy.
Prior to his departure,
he had been actively updating the public with the latest information on disasters in the country
through his Twitter account, @Sutopo_PN, which has more than 235,000 followers.
=-=
- The remains of Sutopo
would be flown by a Garuda
Indonesia aircraft from China to Indonesia on Sunday at 03:45 p.m. local time.
The aircraft serving flight number GA-899
was expected to arrive at the Cengkareng-based airport at about 08:30 p.m. local time,
The Indonesian Consulate General also confirmed the information on the repatriation of Sutopo's remains.
"May everything go smoothly,"
late Sutopo's wife and several relatives would also join the same flight.
Shortly after arriving, Sutopo's remains would be carried to the mourning house.
From the mourning house, which is located at Tapos, in Depok city,
Sutopo's remains would then be transported to Boyolali for burial.
Sutopo had suffered from lung cancer since 2017
He died on early Sunday while being treated at the Guangzhou St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital on June 15, 2019.
Foreign Minister had contacted Sutopo's wife to express her condolences.
The BNPB suffered a tremendous loss in the passing of its senior spokesman,
The BNPB received the sad news from Sutopo's wife and his son's Twitter account.
Sutopo was confirmed by doctors to get lung cancer in December 2017.
The cancer that he suffered had spread to his body's bones
and several other vital internal organs.
However, despite his serious illness,
he remained committed to his professional work as the agency's spokesperson.
Amid his ongoing endeavor to receive medical treatment,
he still held regular press briefings
to update information on the impact and mitigation efforts of such catastrophic disasters as the Lombok and Palu earthquakes and tsunamis, BNPB said.
"We all suffer a tremendous loss in the passing of Mr. Sutopo.
May almighty Allah Subhana Wa Taala accept his good deeds,
and enable the mourning families to cope with this loss and grief patiently,".
=-=
Even so, Yahya had not been able to ascertain when will
Sutopo's body will be brought back to Indonesia.
His family is still communicating with the Indonesian Embassy in China.
"Maybe later, at dawn, there will be more info about it,".
Sutopo was known to have departed for Guangzhou, China,
to treat his lung cancer which was getting worse.
He announced his departure through a vlog (video blog recording) and uploaded it on his Instagram account on June 15, 2019.
"At the moment, I am still at Airport in order to go to Guangzhou, China
for my cancer treatment, in which the cancer felt getting worse and becoming more painful," he said at the time.
At that time, Sutopo also said that
the cancer cells had spread to many other bones and organs inside of him.
-0-
Our condolences on the passing of Mr Sutopo, in the wee hours today,"
the President wrote on his official Instagram account on Sunday.
Sutopo died at 49 while being treated for lung cancer in China.
Sutopo had still shown his dedication to the nation and the public
by kept providing the latest information on disasters happening in several regions in Indonesia, despite his illness.
Sutopo,had been confirmed by doctors to get lung cancer in December 2017.
The cancer that he suffered had spread to his body's bones
and several other vital internal organs.
His remains would be flown by a Garuda Indonesia aircraft from Guangzhou to Soekarno-
-0-
when Sutopo arrived on a Thursday morning,
except for the continuous buzz of his cell phone.
The hospital situation was an extraordinary for him,
but the buzzing from his phone was not.
Sutopo, after all, is a communications officer for one of the country’s most important institutions,
and he is very good at his job.
That morning, disaster struck.
There had just been a massive landslide
in Pasir Panjang village, Salem subdistrict, Brebes regency, Central Java,
and dozens of farmers were feared to be buried under the mud.
And like every time in the past eight years
that there has been a disaster somewhere in the nation, journalists have turned to Sutopo,
for accurate information.
Sutopo took a deep breath — the pain in his chest had gotten worse those days,
and he could feel it spreading around to the bones in his back.
The doctors’ verdict was out a month ago: he had stage four lung cancer.
He had promised his wife that
he would not work too much these days,
but as he scrolled through the internet and social media,
no local authorities had spoken about the deadly disaster.
In his surgical blue gown, he contacted several local authorities in Brebes,
gathered information from the field and
wrote a 200-word-long official press release from his hospital bed.
“Five killed, 15 missing and 14 survived in Brebes landslide,” he wrote as the first sentence.
And before the doctors gave him the anesthetic for the first transarterial chemotherapy infusion,
Sutopo had sent the release to more than 1,000 journalists across the archipelago
in six WhatsApp groups that he personally managed.
He also gave updates on the situation to his 74,000 followers
following his Twitter account, @Sutopo_PN, along with videos and pictures.
Battling hoaxes while doing chemo
Sutopo, affectionally called “Pak Topo”,
now must go through chemotherapy once every three weeks.
But as he described himself in his Twitter profile, he is a survivor.
So he still manages most of the interviews, releases and press conferences on his own.
“When a disaster strikes, everyone needs valid information that they can rely on,
and that kind of information must come from the BNPB.
I always try to give it to the media and public as soon as possible.
Because if I can’t deliver that, they will receive the hoaxes and fake news that cause panic,
and we don’t want that to happen,”.
Sutopo understands that
in the event of a disaster, clear information is crucial.
Apart from the official release and updates on social media,
he is swift in his responses to reporters’ questions
and tackling hoaxes through phone calls and WhatsApp messages.
And it can happen at any time of the day or night.
“To deliver valid information to the media and public,
I also must act like a reporter — I must call several people in the field to verify the information.
They did not send me all of the information just like that; I must compile the data and background.
And after that I must write it clearly so people will understand,”.
Thousands of personnel deployed for handling emergency earthquake in Bali and NTB.
259 people, 1,033 people hospitalised, 270,168 people displaced. (kehilangan tempat tinggal)
The number of victims is estimated to still grow because not all verified up to 9/8/2018.
He provides 24/7 updates on his Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp,
including guiding families concerned about their loved ones trapped on Mount Rinjani or the Gili islands
when the earthquake struck.
Since doctors told him that his cancer was terminal,
every day when he showed up to public he looked thinner than before.
“Doctors told me with chemotherapy and radiation, I probably have one to three years left,”.
Exemplary public officer
Sutopo, however, always shows up to BNPB press conferences.
“I might look strong when I talk in the press conference,
but to tell you the truth,
nowadays I find it hard to stand for a long time like that.
Breathing has also become harder.
Lying in bed is actually the best thing for me,” he said recently
after one of the Lombok earthquake press conferences.
“He is not only informative about any update on disaster conditions,
but he is also very resourceful about the data, disaster management, culture, nature's condition, climate, human activities and every background story.
He knows a lot of information,
and it makes it easier for me to analyze the disaster when writing the story,” .
Journalists, used to dealing with tight-lipped public communication officers,
Journalist loved him for his openness.
He is not a communication expert by training
but he completed his doctoral degree on management of natural resources and environment at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in 2010.
the eruption of Mt. Merapi in 2010 killed more than 300 people.
“When Mt. Merapi erupted in 2010, I found it hard to reach out to journalists.
But nowadays, WhatsApp is more effective, and I can even attach videos and pictures in it,”.
The job might be tough, but Sutopo has admitted that he fell in love with the job.
“My background as a researcher
and my aspiration to be a writer makes me enjoy this job.
Sickness or death is in God’s hands,
but while I’m still alive I still want to do my best to serve others,”.
. "Official information is important to keep the public calm,"
"Although I had to bear back pain while giving the explanation."
And like in many of his tweets,
some netizens will reply and say, “Get well soon Pak.
Your explanation has helped the citizens a lot. Keep up the good spirit!”
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