Solo Expedition of Indonesian Archipelago

KOMPAS/FAJAR RAMADHAN

Muhammad Maahir Abdullah

Fifteen years ago, as a fourth grader, Muhammad Maahir Abdullah, 25, had a dream of exploring Indonesia. Now the dream has been fulfilled. He has traveled around 34 provinces and climbed the seven highest mountains in Indonesia.

Maahir promptly jumped off his bicycle and knelt down when he reached the gate of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) office, South Jakarta, on Tuesday at noon (10/11/2020). He was given a hearty welcome by dozens of people waiting for him since morning. They were expressing congratulatory greetings.

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Maahir couldn’t fight back his tears when his mother, Sumaryati, 51, approached him. The mother embraced him warmly. The moving atmosphere marked the first meeting of the two in 2.5 years.

Maahir began his solo expedition to explore Nusantara (Indonesian Archipelago) on 11 March 2018. He traveled by bike, a 1993 MTB Federal Bobcat, with a frame he considered sturdy. In fact, he only used its frame. He assembled the frame with the parts of other more modern bikes in 2016. The assembly process took a year to finish and the cost was Rp 8 million.

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Maahir tried it out several times before starting his expedition. One of his tryouts was cycling around West Java for a week. Then he took the route of Jakarta-Yogyakarta and climbed seven mountains for 1.5 months. “During the tryouts, I always recorded the shortcomings and plus points of cycling. They were needed for the expedition,” he said.

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Muhammad Maahir Abdullah (25) in Jakarta, Tuesday (10/11/2020).

After getting himself prepared, Maahir began his expedition in 2018. He totally covered a distance of 21,926 kilometers in 34 provinces in 975 days or more than 2.5 years. As a note, the distance between Sabang and Merauke if a straight line is drawn on the map is around 5,240 kilometers.

He claimed to have only Rp 5 million for his journey. The money came from his savings originating in T-shirt sale proceeds in preceding months. He could survive with whatever supplies he carried for 2.5 years because of local people’s kindness and aid in the regions where he stopped over. It was also thanks to their help that he managed to go through his toughest trial when affected by malaria in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

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Besides his cycling exploration, he succeeded in scaling the seven highest mountain peaks in Indonesia. One of them he will never forget all his life is his climb up the summit of Cartenz, Jayawijaya, Papua. He was moved for being able to reach there and at the same time anxious to watch part of the eternal snow melting due to global warming. “A guide there said the snow used to be more extensive,” he pointed out.

World map

At the Cartenz peak, Maahir again recalled his desire to travel around Indonesia when he was a fourth grader. At the time, he noticed a world map on the classroom wall. He casually measured the extent of Indonesia’s territory by using the span of his hand. It seemed that Indonesia was equivalent to four countries in Europe. From then on, he was curious and craving to explore Indonesia.

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He kept cherishing his dream. Only 2013 did he reveal his longing to his academic counselor on his campus. Even then, nobody believed Maahir’s yearning, some even thought he was crazy.

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The moment Muhammad Maahir Abdullah (25) embraced his mother, Sumaryati (51) at the PMI South Jakarta office, Tuesday (10/11/2020).

Still he reveled in his desire. When preparing his undergraduate thesis in 2017, he wrote down his expedition plan on the acknowledgement sheet of the essay. The writing was like a prayer that was answered. He actually began his adventure.

For Maahir, it wasn’t just an ordinary expedition. While on his tour, he initiated the opening of reading parks in various regions. It was done because he felt worried by the low reading interest of Indonesian people, particularly children.

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“It’s true, reading is the window of the world. But it’s impossible for us to only watch from the window. We should open the door and go out,” he indicated.

When stopping over in some regions, he asked communities in Jakarta to send books. Those supplying him with books were among others Pramuka Saka Bhayangkara and Gowes Literasi. The books he obtained were distributed to residents’ representatives in places he visited.

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Through the books, he hoped bigger reading parks would emerge. “Of the target of 10 parks, we could only set up four due to book delivery cost constraints,” he said.

It’s true, reading is the window of the world. But it’s impossible for us to only watch from the window. We should open the door and go out.

The first reading parked initiated by Maahir was on Adonara Island, East Flores regency, NTT. However, the park that impressed Maahir most was in Kokonao, West Mimika, Papua.

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Muhammad Maahir Abdullah (25) knelt down at the gate of PMI South Jakarta office, Tuesday (10/11/2020).

He saw the children there very enthusiastically reading storybooks. So far they have only been able to read textbooks from their school’s library collection. “We gave them storybooks or comics. They’re just light reading material. The children need books with a lot more pictures than words,” he added.

He wasn’t merely providing books. Maahir first examined the cultures and local wisdom of the places of his sojourns. If the communities of the regions were predominantly fishermen, he would ask for books with maritime nuances from Jakarta.

Maahir wants to see the regional communities reading the books from him so that they develop similar dreams. His desire to explore the country is mostly prompted by the books he reads.

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As part of the South Jakarta PMI’s volunteer corps, Maahir is part of a number of humanitarian operations. When he stayed in South Halmahera, North Maluku, in 2019, the region was hit by a major earthquake. Without a second thought, he went to rescue the quake victims.

“I halted my journey and helped the victims. I joined the personnel of the local PMI,” he said.

According to Maahir, if there’s somebody most contributive to the success of his expedition, it is his mother. Without his mother’s consent and prayer, he is convinced his expedition wouldn’t have been accomplished.

Muhammad Maahir Abdullah

Born: Jakarta, 30 May 1995

Education: Counseling Education Department, Indraprasta University, Jakarta (2013-2017)