Agung Laksono

In thisIndonesian name,there is nofamily namenor apatronymic,and the person should be referred to by thegiven name,Agung.

Agung Laksono
Official portrait, 2019
Member of thePresidential Advisory Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 December 2019
President	Joko Widodo
Chairman	Wiranto
15thCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare
In office 22 October 2009 – 20 October 2014
President	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Preceded by	Aburizal Bakrie
Succeeded by	Puan Maharani
14thSpeaker of the House of Representatives
In office 1 October 2004 – 30 September 2009
Preceded by	Akbar Tandjung
Succeeded by	Marzuki Alie
Member ofHouse of Representatives
In office 1 October 2004 – 30 September 2009
Constituency	DKI Jakarta I
In office 1 October 1987 – 30 September 1999
Constituency	DKI Jakarta
7th Minister of Youth and Sports
Acting 7 December 2012 – 15 January 2013
President	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Preceded by	Andi Alfian Mallarangeng
Succeeded by	Roy Suryo
In office 26 March 1998 – 27 September 1999
President	Suharto B. J. Habibie
Preceded by	Hayono Isman
Succeeded by	Juwono Sudarsono(acting) Mahadi Sinambela
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-23)23 March 1949 Semarang,Indonesia
Political party	Golkar
Alma mater	Christian University of Indonesia(dr.)
Occupation	Politician businessman

Agung Laksono(born 23 March 1949)is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is serving as a member of thePresidential Advisory Councilsince 2019. A member ofGolkar,Agung previously served asCoordinating Minister for People's Welfarein theSecond United Indonesia Cabinetfrom 2009 to 2014 and asSpeaker of the House of Representativesfrom 2004 to 2009.

Born in Semarang, on 23 March 1949.He completed his primary and secondary education at SMA Negeri 4 Medan. He continued his studies at theChristian University of Indonesiaat the Faculty of Medicine and graduated in 1972.He started his political career in theGolkar Partyby serving as Chairman of the Youth Forces of the Golkar Party from 1984 until 1989.

Laksono would go on to serve as Director of PT Horizon Andalas Televisi, now known asANTVfrom 1993 until 1998 and Minister of Youth and Sports in theDevelopment Cabinet VIIin the government ofPresidentSuharto.In 1999, he entered thePeople's Representative Council.In 2004, he replacedAkbar TandjungasSpeaker of the People's Representative Council,going to serve from 2004 until 2009.

He was appointed by PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyonoas Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare from 2009 until 2014. On 7 December 2012, he was appointed to serve as Acting Minister of Youth and Sports replacing Andi Mallarangeng, following Andi's resignation over alleged corruption case of the Hambalang sports facility construction project inBogor,West Java.Being succeeded by Roy Suryo. On 28 May 2014, he was also appointed as ActingMinister of Religious AffairsreplacingSuryadharma Aliwho officially resigned after alleged corruption. He was soon replaced byLukman Hakim Saifuddinwho was officially inaugurated by the President on 9 June 2014.

On 13 December 2019, PresidentJoko Widodoappointed Laksono and 8 others to become members of the Presidential Advisory Council withWirantoas chairman.

Early life, education, and early career

Early life and education

Agung Laksono was born in Semarang on 23 March 1949.He completed his primary and secondary education at SMA Negeri 4 Medan. He continued his studies at theIndonesian Christian Universityat the Faculty of Medicine and graduated in 1972.

Early career

He started his political career in the Golkar Party by serving as Chairman of the Youth Forces of the Golkar Party from 1984 until 1989.

Political career

Laksono would go on to serve as Minister of Youth and Sports in theDevelopment Cabinet VIIin the government ofPresidentSuharto.In 1999, he entered thePeople's Representative Council.In 2004, he replacedAkbar TandjungasSpeaker of the People's Representative Council,going to serve from 2004 until 2009.

He was appointed by PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyonoas Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare from 2009 until 2014. On 7 December 2012, he was appointed to serve as Acting Minister of Youth and Sports replacing Andi Mallarangeng, following Andi's resignation over alleged corruption case of the Hambalang sports facility construction project inBogor,West Java.Being succeeded by Roy Suryo. On 28 May 2014, he was also appointed as ActingMinister of Religious AffairsreplacingSuryadharma Aliwho officially resigned after alleged corruption. He was soon replaced byLukman Hakim Saifuddinwho was officially inaugurated by the President on 9 June 2014.

On December 13, 2019, PresidentJoko Widodoappointed Laksono and 8 others to become members of the Presidential Advisory Council withWirantoas chairman.

Political positions

Iran nuclear program

Laksono is a supporter ofIran's nuclear program.

Business ventures

Adam Air

He was a co-founder ofAdam Air,a now defunct commercial airline, which was heavily embroiled in corruption as well as various safety violations.Adam Air was closed down after a series of accidents.

Controversy

Laksono is known for critical remarks towardSingaporein response to the island republic's diplomatic calls to the Indonesian government to curb acrid trans-boundary haze that shroud large areas ofSumatra,Peninsular Malaysiaand Singapore annually as a result of extensive "slash and burn"cultivation in Sumatra,Kalimantanand other Indonesian territories. His remarks were viewed as without sound justification, aimed at rousing nationalistic sentiments without constructively resolving the issue at hand.

In the2013 Southeast Asian haze,PSIlevels across many parts ofJohor,Malacca,Selangorand Singapore reached hazardous levelsas the number of hotspots in neighbouringRiauprovince, Sumatra, climbed to 148.Laksono lambasted Singaporeans for "behaving like a child" when the city-state stepped up pressure on the Indonesian government to take definitive action to extinguish the Sumatran forest fires and bring those responsible to justice through stricter enforcement of laws against indiscriminate burning.When a Singaporean officialoffered assistance to tackle the recurrent haze problem at an emergency meeting held inJakarta,Laksono responded, "If it is only half a million, or one million dollars, we don't need that. We would rather use our own national budget."

Singapore's Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loongmentioned in a press conference that "It’s not fruitful to respond to such comments. It would be in the best interests of both countries to work on the problem together rather than exchanging harsh words." Lee also repeated an offer to help Indonesia.

Laksono also told reporters that "Indonesian citizens also need to be looked after" before tending to other countries' interests, even though the world's largest archipelago is observed to be the primary source of the annual regional smog. While playing the victim card, he squarely fended off the blame to foreign-owned companies and elements beyond his nation's control. He argued that it was "not what Indonesians want, it's nature", despite the fact that it was clear even in the haze that were razing large areas of forested land for commercial plantations were certainly man-made events.

Laksono also reportedly remarked on more than one occasion that Indonesia's neighbours do not appreciate the fresh air that Indonesian forests bring to them, but complained about the haze when it only happens occasionally.