Philosophy of Hard Working and Competitive Commitment to Prof. Oei Kim Seng
Reported by: Setiawan Liu
Jakarta, June 15, 2023/Indonesia Media – Indonesian neurosurgeon expert, Prof. Dr. dr. Satyanegara, Sp.BS (Oei Kim Seng) practises the philosophy of hard working, believing that work and diligence have moral benefit, when studying in the faculty of medicine, Kyushu University (for bachelor degree) and Tokyo University, Japan (for master and doctorate degree). His practising hard working philosophy started after he saw many students from Japanese imperial universities. “When I was about entering (faculty of medicine, Japan), I was committed to enter one of the imperial universities in Japan. There were seven imperial universities in total, in Japan. Formerly, there were eight (universities), but one in Taiwan. Since they (Taiwan) separated, there are only seven (universities) left,” said Oei Kim Seng.
The competition occurred to Japanese people, including the university students when he was studying. Most of the students from the faculty of medicine are not only geniuses, but hard-working and achievement oriented. Therefore, he had no choice but to think about how to compete with the Japanese students. The only way was supposed to work hard and compete with other students. “When I was entering Tokyo university, I committed myself to work harder than Japanese students. What we could see everyday, people reading books. They are really bookworms. When the lecture started at seven o’clock, I had arrived 10 – 15 (ten to fifteen) minutes earlier. If they left (lecture rooms) around eleven o’clock, I left thirty minutes later (than Japanese students). That is the way to compete with them,” said Oei Kim Seng.
In March 1960, when arriving in Japan for the first time, he took the medical college admission test. The result was, he passed the test. Then he made attempts to join the same test in different universities, namely Tokyo Medical in March. He passed the test for the second time, and his name was included in the list of students who passed the test.
He finally decided to study at Kyushu University. After following the lectures, Oie Kim Seng was inaugurated for having passed the examination. And he attended the graduation ceremony on March 26, 1966. Then he continued to study for a master degree program for neurosurgeons in Tokyo University. That was not enough for him, he continued to attend a doctorate degree program in the same university. “All of the stories (life journey) were written, but in the 0 – 34 age range. The biography of mine was made, starting from the moment of my birth till I turned 34 years old. This year, I turn 85 years old. The biography ‘Verses of Philosophy’ tells the journey of my life, starting from the moment of my birth till I was summoned to this beloved country, Indonesia,” said Oei Kim Seng.
The purpose of the book ‘Verses of Philosophy of Satyanegara’ was intended for his two sons, namely Utama and Dharma. Lessons learned, there must be valuable messages for them (Utama and Dharma), knowing that their father graduated from imperial university in Japan. The testimonials are written in the biography ‘Verses of Philosophy of Satyanegara’. He had never thought of sharing his thoughts and life philosophy. “if the content (of biography) is only about life philosophy, it will not be interesting. I want something real, happen in my life. The two sons of mine did not become doctors or neurosurgeon. But one of my grandchildren is going to graduate from the faculty of medicine, Catholic university of Atma Jaya. Another two granddaughters have graduated from state-owned university, Diponegoro (Undip Semarang, central Java). One graduated from computer science and another one, graduated from the faculty of law. Now both of them are working for government institutions,” said Oei Kim Seng. (SL/IM)