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