Talk with Mr. Luse

 

Keith Luse is Senator Lugar's senior professional staff member for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In addition, he is the Committee liaison to the ranking member of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, and the ranking member of the International Economic Policy Subcommittee. Mr. Luse also assists with Senator Lugar's ongoing oversight of the multilateral development banks, on anti-corruption and transparency issues. Mr. Luse joined Senator Lugar at the Foreign Relations Committee in 2003. Previously, he served as Senator Lugar's staff director at the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Beginning in 1978, Mr. Luse worked in Senator Lugar's Indiana Office, where he served as state director beginning in 1982. During Senator Lugar's first term as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Luse assisted the chairman on ASEAN matters and coordinated visits of Asian officials to Indiana. Upon departing Senator Lugar's Indiana Office in 1989, Mr. Luse served as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. From 1991 through 1998, he traveled throughout East Asia while in the private sector, conducting a range of research for U.S. businesses.

He also challenges us to keep open mind by having multiple issue, because you can't have expertise. Well, that's not how it works in my place. I'm encouraged to take one expertise to be able to support efficiently.

Mr. Luse is accompanied by nine US-embassy staffs. He's scheduled for giving speech at Gedung Nusantara V this morning. Mr. Luse is a typical senior researcher I often found in my office: smart but not an attractive speaker. Since he's a committee staf of Senator Lugar, he's like private experts here. However, those who take the expert job for the Diet Members are considered low productive and only attractive in appearance. Sorry to be frank, they are mostly beautiful and handsome cousins of the member.

Mr. Luse tells us the job he done as Senator Lugar's support. I think he's amazing. He reminds us to:

1.     Keep the latest and update information

2.     Make accurate recommendation  (to the senator)

3.     Know where to get information, because we might not know everything.

Talking about the member's relation with the media, Mr. Luse notifies that it is important that member give accurate information to journalist. The system created to convey such information is by having press secretary or spoke person. They are the one WHO TALK to media.

"Actually, Indonesia is the leading country in Asia in press freedom" he said. Wow, he must forget the TEMPO case recently.

The meeting last in one and half. I can see people are sleepy at the middle of the discussion. lol