Blogger Indonesia of the Week (37): Merlyna Lim

Posted on September 7, 2007
Filed Under Blogger Indonesia, Blogger of Week, Fatih Syuhud

I’m a bit superstitious about a certain Indonesian name. I mean even before I meet a person, once I know one’s name, I tend to ‘judge’ his/her personality. Of course I never tell anyone about this habit. So, when I saw a commenter named Merlyna Lim in one of my posting several months ago ’something’ tells me that someone who carries the name Merlyna must be a light-weight person who loves a light-weight hobbies. In another word, she must be a fun-loving person who just wants to enjoy pop-culture life to the fullest. I am wrong, it turns out. Terribly wrong.

A few days back, I was googling her name and once I saw her picture (it’s also my other bad habit, but it used to be more accurate!) I saw something extraordinary in her face: strong determination, sharp brain and strong leadership. This time I am right. At least, some facts and her friend testimonial had proven that.Jak Boumans of Netherlands, who just met her twice, says this about her:

She is a young, intelligent and sharp lady. She is a trained architect, who graduated from Bandung Institute of Technology. But she changed direction and moved from physical spaces to virtual public spaces on internet. She has written a lot of articles, as her bibliography shows. Her main work is in describing the part internet played in the politics in Indonesia…

Endrayanto, one of her friend in the Netherlands who dedicated a lot of space of photo coverage for her success in defending her phd thesis thus

Defending her thesis (in September 2005)with title “@rchipelago Online, The Internet and Political Activism in Indonesia”, Merlyn got the degree Doctor with Cum Laude. Congratulation!

Cum Laude? It’s, and that’s one reason why she can ‘easily’ extend her study/research into another level as a fellow in University of Southern California.

And as a long time tradition of research scholar abroad, she writes extensively in several established journal and publication worldwide, the list of which you can see it here.

In between her very hectic schedule, she still has time to blog and help other Indonesians who need to continue their study by posting some very useful scholarships information in milis beasiswa (yahoogroups).

Although she has made it big in international arena, one thing I like is her down-to-earth attitude. And that’s the essence of Indonesian culture: the more achiever you are, the more humble you should be.