By: Ali Syarief
In the long arc of professional life, we occasionally meet individuals who leave more than memories—they leave principles that guide us for decades. For me, that person is Thomas Edward Hogan, an Australian scholar in communications, a fellow speaker across continents, and above all, a friend whose wisdom continues to echo in my life.
We met in 34 years ago, when Tom arrived in Jakarta as part of a mission from Australian Business Volunteers. I was the Indonesian representative for the Canberra-based organization, and when I came from Bandung to meet him at his hotel, I had no idea that I was meeting a man who would become one of the most enduring intellectual and personal influences in my life.
Tom was no ordinary guest speaker or consultant. He was a teacher whose teachings were subtle, layered, and lasting. One line he once told me has never left me, and it has become my intellectual compass:
“Democracy is regulated.”
This wasn’t a mere phrase—it was a principle. It taught me that democracy is not a free-for-all or an endless shouting match; it is a system with legal frameworks, with limits that protect rights rather than violate them. That one sentence helped me understand who truly speaks in the name of democracy, and who abuses its name. It gave me a lens through which to see clearly in times of political noise. For this alone, I owe Tom a great debt.
Our friendship grew beyond formal meetings and seminar rooms. Tom visited Indonesia often, especially my home in Bandung, and I’ve had the pleasure of visiting his house in Sydney. Alongside our mutual friend, Agus Riyanto from Telkom Indonesia, we delivered seminars and workshops across the region—from Singapore, Batam, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Makassar, and Surabaya, to the learning havens of Bali. We shared hotel lobbies, late-night flight delays, whiteboards filled with strategy, and audiences eager to understand the art of communication.
I remember with fondness our seminar in Bali. Tom delivered his deep insights on How to Do Business with the Chinese, while I took the floor to discuss How to Do Business with the Japanese, a topic that later became central to my book Why Japan Matters: A Foreign Perspective—a work that he enthusiastically endorsed. That gesture alone speaks to the kind of friend and scholar he is: always supportive, always generous, always intellectually honest.
Tom’s core strengths—radio broadcasting, organizational communication, and cross-cultural business practice—are remarkable. But what sets him apart is how he models these values. He doesn’t just speak about integrity; he lives it. He doesn’t merely analyze culture; he respects it. He doesn’t claim to defend democracy; he reminds you it must be regulated to mean anything at all.
Now, as I look back on our three-decade journey—from first contact to enduring collaboration—I realize that what Tom gave me was more than knowledge. He gave me clarity. He helped sharpen my moral instincts in a world full of noise. And for that, this tribute is more than deserved—it is necessary.
In an age when voices are many but vision is rare, Tom Hogan remains one of the few who consistently saw further—and helped others do the same.
