Preamble to Founder’s Keepsakes
Kevin Triangto
You have arrived at Founder’s Keepsakes, the cornerstone of Respina’s enduring commitment throughout generations.
Our organization, comprising leading medical specialists and esteemed members of the international respiratory society, stands united under one purpose: to dramatically improve respiratory care in Indonesia. This section is dedicated to the founders of Respina, our trailblazers.
Their vision was not one of completion, but of continuity. They have established and continually enforce a powerful tradition of regeneration, believing that the legacy is best honored by mentoring and elevating new, uprising rookies in the field.
Here, you will find the unwavering principles that keep our mission focused. These keepsakes are the wisdom that shapes our present efforts and ensures the shared aim remains clear for the future: a seamless, unbroken commitment to excellence in respiratory health.
Learning from Valedicere Speech of Prof Menaldi Rasmin
Learning from Valedicere Speech of Prof Menaldi Rasmin
Anitta FS Paulus
Today (September 30, 2025, Respina and I were attending retirement’s speech of Prof Menaldi Rasmin in Auditorium IMERI FKUI.
From his long journey of doing great job as a guru, he has been completing some outstanding works, not only for education, medicine moreover larger scope in research and national resilience.
From his outstanding speech, I would like to summarize some key points to share.
Toughness makes you stronger
Strength of being a medical doctor is a process that initiated since medical student. Ability to complete a duty, multi tasking function and good time management is built up from very beginning in the journey as Prof Menaldi told his experience doing some important activities such as involvement in faculty of medicine organization, in other duty for example, completing Bahasa Indonesia medical/ health related terms. From his experience we learnt that being tough in many difficult situation is resulted from sincerity to face the situation and enjoyment of doing things instead of feeling of wrongly treated as a medical student. Exercise of toughness is not bully. In medical practice, facing a difficult and complicated condition is like a daily menu. To be involved in the journey is a modality to be stronger doctor that in daily living will be facing complex and difficult situation.
Proud of using bahasa Indonesia in medical terminology
Prof Menaldi was carrying out a mandate to compose medical/ health terminologies in Bahasa Indonesia and concistently practicing them in teaching, speech and writing.
As Indonesian doctor or medical student, we are expected and responsible to continue this mandatory duty proudly. Speaking and writing in Bahasa Indonesia is a right way to live Sumpah Pemuda.
Education, health services and research is a package in medicine
As a guru besar he has been role modeling his vision in daily practice, as a guru besar he’s in campus, teaching, nurturing his medical students and show how to deliver this noble profession in clinical practice and daily living. His commitment to carry out the nobility is very consistent beyond campus border, even had to speak it out in court room. We all are carrying out the same duty,
As a guru, he has been dedicating all knowledge and skill in pulmonology and respiratory medicine to overcome health issues, beyonds interdisciplinary approaches in respiratory care, the person who always speaks collaboration in Respiratory care.
Developing pulmonologist intervention is one of his outstanding academic excellences that has been supporting respiratory care in Indonesia, looking at the advances in pulmonology intervention, we might say, international standard in respiratory care has been applied in Indonesia, together with his next generation they innovated some novelty in pulmonology intervention.
An important reminding in interventional procedure in medicine, that ethic is a mandatory point to stand for; right indication, right technique, well preparedness and team work.
In research field, he’s not only a researcher, he is an ethic guardian ensuring all clinical research conducted in line to keeping humanism and human right fulfillment. It is good to do outstanding research topics however beyonds, it is better to do research within good clinical practice.
Excellent leadership to govern education and health services.
Since very beginning he has been showing excellent leadership; managing is not ordering, it is delegating work, trusting your team, networking, collaboration and entrepreneurship. These all capacities have proved where all the achievements came from. He’s not only a guru besar, he’s a great leader.
Philosophical advices
In many occasions, I often listened his statements speaking as guru and as a leader as well, those words that remains in my mind. Today I, again, listened up his powerful words “Devotion does not require position”.
As a medical doctor, we don’t requires other reasons to do our noble professional works, we just require passion to work wholeheartedly for humanity.
As a teacher, we don’t require an institutional position to teach our medical students or residents, we only require commitment and integrity to be present in campus for transfering all the knowledge and skill, to make them capable and compatible, to nurture them how to live a noble profession.
Along with other precious legacy, I’d like to mention here, the innovation of his outstanding work in respiratory emergency that we have alerting system to make patient has fast and right management in condition of respiratory distress.
He excellently has designed a classification of respiratory distress along with early management in each step. From mild to severe respiratory distress where people able to identify respiratory distress easily and simply and able to act according its severity level.
This is a legacy not only for medicine and health services moreover for community education. From my personal experience, the classification has been very helpful to guide all prescription for breathing enhancement to avoid worsening respiratory distress and to manage distress along with other treatment.
At last, he was ending the valedicere by quoting one of Hippocrates’s meaningful words.
Ars longa,Vita brevis
Art is long, Life is short
And medicine is an art.
Being a physician is long life
Learning medicine is long life.
Devotion is also long life.
We are grateful for having his legacies. We are responsible to carry out them.
Thank you Prof Mendi, we wish you have retirement gracefully!