Malia still works at the age of 83<\/p>\n
By Lenah Susianty<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Being old can be a big problem for many people,
\nbut not for Malia Soenario. At 83, she is still cooking at the
\nOasis restaurant in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
It's hard to imagine that a woman who first learned to clean
\nher house at the age of 50 is now preparing food for countless
\npeople.<\/p>\n
But the benefits are large. She remains healthy and far from
\nsenile. Her tight schedule doesn't seem to tire the woman who
\nlooks twenty years younger than her age. Every morning she leaves
\nher house in Tebet, South Jakarta, for the Oasis in a car driven
\nby her chauffeur. She spends three hours, from 10 a.m to 1 p.m.,
\nsupervising cooking preparations in the restaurant's kitchen. She
\nthen takes on another task between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., heading
\nthe 12 waitresses serving the restaurant's special rijstafel
\nmenu.<\/p>\n
Rijstafel, or rice table in old Dutch, was known in
\nIndonesia's colonial days as nasi besar (literally big rice). It
\nis an array of mildly to strongly spiced Indonesian dishes,
\nincluding a soup or soto, and meat, shrimp, egg, vegetables and
\ndessert dishes. The menu is served by 12 waitresses in
\ntraditional Sundanese garb kebaya, each bringing in a different
\ndish.<\/p>\n
Malia attentively explains in fluent English or Dutch the
\nrijstafel food to the guests. Among her long list of guests are
\nPresident Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary.<\/p>\n
\"Many guests like to be served by Ibu because she speaks
\nforeign languages fluently and they can chat with her,\" said
\nBroto Soetantyo, the restaurant's executive chef for Indonesian
\nfood.<\/p>\n
Malia's presence is also welcomed because she makes you feel
\nas if you are being served by your mother, Soetantyo added.<\/p>\n
\"Many of the Dutch guests ask me whether the Dutch were kind
\nto Indonesians during the colonial times,\" Malia Soenario told
\nThe Jakarta Post between smiles.<\/p>\n
The most common question is about her age. The Clintons asked
\nit too.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them didn't expect that I am already 83 years old.
\nSo, they usually also ask my secret of staying fit. It is simple
\nactually: working hard and take cabe lempuyang (an Indonesian
\nherbal drink) twice a day in the morning and before going to
\nbed,\" Malia said, adding that once an American guest spent US$100
\non cabe lempuyang after learning her secret of longevity.<\/p>\n
Malia was born on Jan. 10, 1912 and was the first daughter of
\na Sundanese noble family. Her father, R.A.A. Wiranata Koesoemah,
\nwas the regent of Bandung at the turn of the century. Her father
\nlater became Indonesia's first Minister of Domestic Affairs.<\/p>\n
Malia never dreamt that the cooking lessons she obtained from
\nher mother, R. Suhamah A. Ganda Adi Negara, at the kabupaten
\n(regency) would become her means of living.<\/p>\n
\"There were dozens of cooks at our house at that time. My mom
\nand I liked cooking so we often spent the time together in the
\nkitchen. Besides, girls at that time had not many choices. They
\nhad to stay at home, learning how to keep house and read the
\nKoran,\" Malia recalled.<\/p>\n
\"But, I did like cooking. Everyday after school at the Hoogere
\nBurger School (HBS) managed by a Catholic's Ursuline Order, I
\nchanged my western skirt into kebaya as ordered by my parents,
\nthen I helped my mom in the kitchen. My sister didn't like it, so
\nshe played tennis instead,\" said the mother of four children,
\ngrandmother of 16 and great-grandmother of 13.<\/p>\n
Being a daughter of a prominent family allowed Malia to
\nunderstand not only Indonesian but also European food. It was
\nnatural considering that her father had to entertain European as
\nwell as Indonesian guests.<\/p>\n
After joining the Oasis in 1979, Malia was entrusted with
\nperfecting the restaurant's rijstafel because she had been
\nfamiliar with it since childhood.<\/p>\n
Tradition<\/p>\n
It was a tradition in Malia's father's regency for chiefs
\ncongregate with their ingredients and their cooks. Together, they
\nprepared and served the food in the regent's pendopo, an open
\nhall which served as a function room. Each one proudly presented
\nhis dish.<\/p>\n
\"It was the origin of what the Dutch later called rijstafel or
\nrice on the table because we put all the dishes on a big table,\"
\nMalia explained.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian high ranking guests would eat in a room called
\nthe Arab room because it was designed in an Arabian style. Those
\nof higher rank sat on chairs while the others sat on the floor.<\/p>\n
If there were any Dutch guests they were usually served by
\ngirls, said Malia.<\/p>\n
During the Japanese occupation, Malia was often asked by
\nJapanese officers to cook for them or to give free cooking
\nlessons to people. The lessons included tips on how to make use
\nof available leaves and also snails as food during the time of
\nshortage.<\/p>\n
\"I was asked to give the lessons because I was the oldest
\ndaughter of the regent and I knew how to cook,\" Malia said.<\/p>\n
At 17, Malia was introduced to R. Soenario, who later became
\nher husband of 37 years. The couple moved to Jakarta where her
\nhusband worked as police commissioner. In the capital Malia again
\nfound that her cooking experience could be very useful. At that
\ntime there were no five-star hotels or restaurants in Jakarta, so
\nMalia started her first career in the food business by cooking
\nfor the American, Dutch, Belgian, New Zealand and Australian
\nembassies in Jakarta. Later, Malia expanded her business by
\ncatering for the police, the Armed Forces and big foreign
\noffices.<\/p>\n
Her husband died Malia was offered work at the Indonesian
\nembassy in Washington, D.C., where she was in charge of the
\nentertainment and supervised the household.<\/p>\n
\"It was in Washington,D.C. that I learned a lot of things I
\nhad never done before, such as driving a car, washing the dishes,
\ncleaning crystal, mopping the floor, going around on foot and
\nriding on a public bus,\" Malia recalled.<\/p>\n
Her life in the regency did not give her any chance to do such
\nsimple things since servants were always around.<\/p>\n
In 1972 she returned to Jakarta. Seven years later she joined
\nOasis.<\/p>\n
\"At first, my friends kept asking me why I was willing to work
\nas a cook in a restaurant. People here have yet to appreciate the
\njob. But, later, they envy my luck of having the chance to meet
\nthe VIPs here in the restaurant,\" said Malia, who gave cooking
\nlessons to members of the Women's International Club in Jakarta
\nfor 30 years.<\/p>\n
With the former general manager of the Oasis, Malia started to
\nperfect the rijstafel menu and to adjust it to the international
\npalates of the guests. It is also Malia who teaches Oasis's
\nwaitresses how to serve, to dress in the kebaya elegantly and
\nalso etiquette.<\/p>\n
\"I teach them some basic physical exercises as well so that
\nthey can move beautifully,\" said Malia.<\/p>\n
Offers to work abroad have never ceased to come her way. A
\nJapanese offered her to work in Japan once, but she refused,
\nsaying that her current job is satisfying.<\/p>\n
\"If you do something willingly, nothing can displease you.
\nAnd, now, I like my job, there is no pressure in it. I'll be
\nworking until I can't do it anymore,\" Malia said.<\/p>\n
Today, she works day and night. There is no time to feel
\nlonely. Her only entertainment is her family or reading magazines
\n(without glasses!) like her favorite Reader's Digest.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malia-still-works-at-the-age-of-83-1447893297",
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