BIOGRAPHY Bujang Alwi Saputra
ISBN: 978-623-88739-0-6
Author: Muhammad Natsir Tahar
Pages: viii + 162
Size: 14.8 cm x 21 cm
Publisher: Focus Publishing Intermedia
PROLOGUE
“Life is short, art is long, opportunity is rare, experience quickly fades, and judgment is difficult.”
—Hippocrates (Ancient Greek physician and philosopher)
Choosing a career as a civil servant was not just a difficult and uphill path for a young man of Chinese descent like Lu Tiong Shan—it was an anomaly. The post-war era and the national political dynamics of his birth did not provide equal opportunities for everyone to become successful entrepreneurs. In truth, almost everyone at that time was born into economic hardship.
As time passed, conditions improved, and opportunities widened. The Chinese community rekindled their business acumen with a relentless fighting spirit, social cohesion, collectivism, work ethic, and strict discipline—principles deeply rooted in Confucianism, Taoism, and the strategic wisdom of Sun Tzu. These factors propelled generations of Chinese descendants to excel in commerce and various business sectors.
Yet, Lu Tiong Shan—who later adopted the Indonesian name Bujang Alwi Saputra, S.IP, M.Pd.—chose an entirely different path. The central figure of this biography built a career as a bureaucrat in the education sector of Dumai City, Riau Province. For many, this career choice seemed unusual for someone of Chinese heritage. Statistically speaking, such a career trajectory is as rare as finding a needle in a haystack.
Bujang, however, had his own unique journey to explain it all. Like the words of Hippocrates, “Life is short, art is long, opportunity is rare, experience quickly fades, and judgment is difficult.” Bujang had dreams that aligned with the opportunities he seized, driven by an unyielding spirit.
Born on April 23, 1958, in the fishing village of Pangkalan Sesai, Bujang’s early life was steeped in hardship. With jobs scarce, his father turned to fishing and farming, blending into a life of poverty in a traditional society far removed from urban noise.
He was almost swept away by the tide of poverty, just as many impoverished fishermen’s children were forced to abandon school for the sea, the fields, and the forests at a young age. But Bujang resisted. By the time he reached the fifth grade, most of his peers had already left school, but he found ways to secure a place for himself as a lifelong learner—persisting until he reached the pinnacle of his aspirations.
This book pieces together the fragments of an extraordinary journey—one that moves in harmony with the universe, charting a path from the depths of hardship to the heights of success. It offers valuable life lessons for future generations who will navigate the challenges of the digital era—an age that is both a utopia and a dystopia, shaped by the reign of artificial intelligence. Bujang: The Anomaly. ~
