Champions of worthy causes

May 2005

Two Monash graduates from different cultures have received the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Report: Robyn Anns

Mr Julian Burnside: "I have always been grateful that I chose Monash."

Melbourne barrister and refugee activist Mr Julian Burnside QC and Indonesian Electoral Commission chairman Professor Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin are the recipients of Monash University's distinguished alumni medals for 2004.

Professor Sjamsuddin received international acclaim last year for his role in the successful running of Indonesia's first direct presidential elections.

Mr Burnside achieved public recognition when he acted, pro bono, for the asylum seekers aboard the merchant vessel Tampa when they sought refuge in Australia in 2001.

After completing a Bachelor of Economics in 1972 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1973 at Monash, Mr Burnside became a barrister in 1976 and took silk in 1989.

"I was lucky enough to be accepted for law at both Melbourne and Monash universities, and I have always been grateful that I chose Monash," Mr Burnside said, adding that Monash was "a hotbed of radical dissent" during his student days.

"A number of people in the Law faculty wondered whether any of us would get employment in the profession, such was the university's reputation. Their concerns were unnecessary, and soon the profession came to understand that the teaching in the Monash Law faculty was of the highest quality," he said.

"It was characterised by a strong sense that law is not simply an abstract body of learning -- it is deeply embedded in society. We were encouraged to see legal developments in the context of larger social developments."

Mr Burnside said a further characteristic of law at Monash was that students were encouraged to learn not only what the law was, but also to ask what it should be.

"It is no accident that Monash graduates have been conspicuous in advancing the interests of law reform in various ways," Mr Burnside said.

Professor Sjamsuddin was involved in political reform when he oversaw the 2004 Indonesian national election. In 2001, he was appointed chief commissioner (chairman) of the Indonesian Electoral Commission, which made him responsible for overseeing that country's first direct presidential election.

Professor Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin: the 2004 elections were the greatest challenge of his life.

Professor Sjamsuddin was praised by international observers and media worldwide for his commitment to a fair and transparent election process, which included a general election and two rounds of the presidential election. He described the 2004 elections as the greatest challenge of his life -- a time when he was given the opportunity to help set a political precedent despite many commentators predicting the polls would result in bloodshed.

"The milestone of my political journey was my involvement in the Indonesian national election as chairman of the commission," he said.

Professor Sjamsuddin attended Monash between 1972 and 1981, completing his MA and PhD during that time. He returned to Indonesia in 1982 to take up the chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Indonesia.

In 1993, he became the first Monash graduate to be appointed a professor at the University of Indonesia.

"As well as having a commitment to teaching, I also realised that I had something to contribute toward the betterment of the Indonesian political community, including the introduction of good governance to a once-authoritarian regime," he said.

From 1997 until 1999, Professor Sjamsuddin was a member of Indonesia's Supreme Assembly, and between 2000 and 2001 he was a member of the Drafting Team for Political Bills and a member of the Expert Team for the Amendment of the 1945 Constitution.

Action: For more information on the achievements of Monash alumni, visit www.monash.edu.au/alumni