Indonesia turns ancient medicine into big business

Indonesia turns ancient medicine into big business

Dan Eaton , Reuters, Jakarta

With the air of a trained librarian, the shopkeeper runs his
finger along a shelf stacked with brightly colored packages.

Skipping over "Macho Man", his hand comes to rest on a bold
red and white sachet, "Kuku Bima".

"Claw of Bima, yep. That's the one," says Ibrahim, a Jakarta
taxi driver, handing over Rp 2,500, or US$0.30, for a dose of
Indonesia's herbal Viagra.

This is one of a vast array of products helping elevate the
ancient Javanese art of herbal medicine from the housewife's
kitchen to the corporate boardroom.

Wearing the skullcap of a Muslim believer, Ibrahim extols the
virtues of the silicone-coated capsules bearing the effigy of a
mythical Hindu superhero.

"Helps with erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation,
improves vitality, stamina, libido and fertility," reads the
label on the drug, named for the wickedly curved thumbnail of
Bima, a hero of the epic Mahabharata.

As Ibrahim leaves the wooden kiosk, a young man in jeans and
black T-shirt asks for a packet of "Rhino Horn", named not for
its contents but the effect the mixture of natural extracts is
reputed to have on a man's sexual prowess.

Across Indonesia, more and more people of both sexes are
turning to jamu, or traditional plant-based medicine, for health
as well as to enhance sexual potency and physical appeal.

Indeed, the world's most populous Muslim nation ranks second
only to South Korea in Asia in the importance its people place on
sex, says a survey published last year by global pharmaceutical
giant Pfizer.

About 72 percent of Indonesians surveyed said they regarded
sex as "very, extremely or moderately" important in their lives.

No mean feat when you consider the competition from third-
placed Filipinos, at 71 percent. Thais registered just 52
percent, despite that country's reputation for sensuality,
raunchy nightlife and a massive sex industry.

All that might appear at odds with perceptions in the West
that Indonesia is a conservative Muslim country, even though
women in tight jeans and tank tops are almost as much in evidence
on the streets of Jakarta as in Bangkok.

Compared to imported medicines, jamu is affordable for middle-
and low-income earners, said Ruslan Aspan, deputy head of
traditional medicines at the Health Ministry, with which
companies plying the trade are required to register.

"Besides the cultural perception, Kuku Bima is known as a
product to improve sexual ability, so it is always interesting
for a couple who need strengthening in this matter," he said.

Jamu was once the domain of housewives and village medicine
men. It now ranges from vitamins and minerals to skin creams,
hair growth tonics, breast enlargers and slimming potions.

Ruslan said estimated annual sales of jamu in Indonesia were
$200 million in 2002, up 10 percent on the previous year.

"There are actually two groups of traditional medicines that
are very popular, namely aphrodisiacs and slimming products,"
said Ruslan.

Not everyone is happy. The justice ministry, in consultation
with Muslim leaders and experts in Islamic sharia law, is trying
to tighten up Indonesia's fairly relaxed attitudes to sex,
drafting rules that could outlaw sex before marriage, living
together outside wedlock and homosexuality.

Arab traders brought Islam to Indonesia many centuries ago,
but the religion has never been able to overshadow traditional
beliefs, mingling with them instead.

In much of Indonesia, Islam is tempered with animist and Hindu
undercurrents and the more than 1,000-year-old Javanese tradition
of jamu is flourishing.

Jamu has now become a multi-million-dollar industry, replete
with glitzy television advertising spots rivaling those of
Western cosmetics firms. It is sold everywhere from small kiosks
to chic department stores and supermarkets.

Jamu became a cottage industry in the 1980s and by the 1990s,
lured by profits, the number of registered manufacturers had
grown to 500.

Health Ministry data show the number of jamu manufacturers
grew 16 percent between 2000 and 2002.

There are now 1,135 registered jamu-makers in Indonesia. Of
these, 118 are regarded as large businesses, many employing
thousands of workers and using techniques of mass production and
strict hygiene regulations.

Despite the entry of big business, though, a common sight
across the main island of Java remains women bent nearly double
as they go door-to-door selling jamu from baskets slung over the
shoulder with a sarong.