Show host: Living his own dream
Sunarto’s personality is open and lively, and he has an irrepressible desire to perform. When chatting with others he often gestures animatedly, and his facial expressions are varied and dramatic. While at university he recruited a band and once dreamed of performing on stage—even cutting a record—so later when he worked as a presenter at Radio Taiwan International, he took to it like a duck to water. “A senior classmate at the university told me that RTI was recruiting an Indonesian-speaking presenter. He reckoned I could express myself well, and said that since I was then working at the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office, the combination made me a good candidate for providing information to migrant workers.” Emboldened by this encouragement, Sunarto threw caution to the wind and applied, and lo and behold, he got the job. “I had always hoped to perform on stage and display my talent. Even though I couldn’t become a singer, hosting a radio show counted as a way of realizing my dreams.”
Sunarto’s hosting style is humorous and laid back. He recounts many anecdotes taken from life that capture the plight of the foreigner, as well as awkward moments that occur due to the language barrier. This helps his audience have a good laugh, and has attracted many to become loyal fans. He receives a dozen or so letters of support weekly, and this too helps keep him motivated.
At times, he randomly telephones a member of his audience who has written him, and each contact is a total surprise. “There was one who suddenly began sobbing quietly when he took my call,” recounts Sunarto. “I didn’t know what was going on. Later on, he wrote and explained that back then he couldn’t adapt to his job and things weren’t going his way. He was thinking of packing his bags and leaving Taiwan behind. I’d never have imagined that my call to extend greetings would lead to his feelings getting the better of him. But afterwards, he was able to master his emotions. He not only remained at his post, his thoughts of running away vanished.”
Sunarto mentions another thing that left a strong impression on him. Intent on showing concern for these isolated migrant workers far from home, RTI once organized an activity that brought relatives of outstanding workers to Taiwan for family reunions. One of the selected workers was based in Yunlin in central Taiwan, but his employer wouldn’t consent for him to travel north to Taipei on his own, because he didn’t trust his employee. In the end, on the day before the event, Sunarto tapped his chest and guaranteed that he would personally chaperone him to Taipei and back to his place of work; only then did the employer agree. “When I saw that migrant worker hug his long-unseen child, I couldn’t hold back my tears even as I smiled.”
During his nine-year tenure as an RTI presenter, Sunarto’s warm heart and words penetrated deeply into the lives of Indonesian migrant workers, accompanying them each day. Although they are in a foreign land, thanks to the change of pace and sense of companionship provided by the program, their drab workdays no longer seemed so boring.
As a radio host, Sunarto was a pioneer of live broadcasting via mobile phone.