Martha Tilaar spreads the message of peace

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): To cosmetic queen Martha Tilaar her country is as precious as an emerald necklace.

"Once the string is broken the whole necklace falls apart. Countless beads scatter and some are often lost forever," says the 62-year-old woman, who has spent an entire lifetime trying to create beauty around her and to share it with as many people as possible.

These days Martha is saddened to watch rioters on the rampage everywhere and is afraid that ugly battles between them may disfigure her breathtakingly beautiful nusantara (archipelago), a shimmering belt that girdles the jamrud khatulistiwa (emerald of the equator).

So what could a cosmetologist do to help in these difficult times facing the country, pondered the founder of Sari Ayu herbal products?

After several meetings with her staff members, it was decided that Sari Ayu 2000, the company's new products, should reinforce the concept of unity in diversity and also be celebrated as an occasion to spread the message of national integration.

The launch, which took place in Jakarta in November, was named Millennium Nusantara and introduced 16 new eye-shadow colors and 12 new lipstick shades especially for four skin types that are predominant in the country.

The Jayamanise collection is for the coffee-colored complexions from Irian Jaya, while Jawadwipa is expected to be worn by the golden-skinned women of Sumatra and Java. For the bronze-toned beauties of Bali, there is the Nusabali collection and for all the fair ladies, like those found in Kalimantan and Sulawesi, there is the Kalimamiri range to choose from.

The colors are advertised by four glamorous faces chosen to represent different regions of the country. Apart from being meticulously painted with the Sari Ayu 2000 colors, the models are also seen to be playing four different instruments presenting a pretty picture of immense beauty, health and harmony.

"The idea is to remain united, to be one even as we are different. Looking at this picture I am reminded of a symphony where one note out of tune means bringing the entire orchestra to a standstill, making all beauty evaporate into thin air. It is no longer music anymore but just a lot of noise," Martha continues, comparing her country today to an orchestra that seems to have lost its song. She worries that if there is no unity amongst Indonesians there is little hope of harmony in the new millennium.

While the message goes down very well with a handful of members of the urban elite who often meet in the comfort of five star accommodation to celebrate similar events, the big question really is how to get the same sentiment across to people on the street, especially in the provinces where wars based on religion are very bloody and the cries of separatism the loudest?

According to Martha, the problem is poverty and a lack of education amongst the majority of her people who have little patience with calls for peace and unity. She is already airing her message on television and working closely with We Care Indonesia, a non-governmental organization that will receive between Rp 350 million and Rp 500 million -- depending on the sale of the Sari Ayu products -- as scholarships for at least 80 deserving women who want to pursue the four year graduation course.

Martha holds many expectations for the women of this country. She wants them to stop being lazy. She advises them not to be too dependent on men. What she has tried to do by selling cosmetics is to make women feel good about themselves so that they are able to face the world with confidence.

"It is only educated, independent and confident mothers who can nurture decent citizens needed for a new Indonesia. Ask yourself what is it that you really want to do with your life? Once you find the answer just go ahead and do it. But do it well. Do not waste your time blaming the menfolk in your family for all your woes," she says passionately, adding that if she could make a go of her life any woman can.

"I am a living example of the average Indonesian woman. I did not have rich parents to start me off. I began by mixing natural ingredients in my kitchen and then went door-to-door to sell my products. What kept me going my entire life has been love and hard work for whatever I have done," says Martha who rules over a cosmetic empire that is worth more than Rp 500 billion.

Her role model is the serene goddess Saraswati holding a musical instrument in one hand symbolizing harmony, the pen education, a necklace of beads faith and flowers femininity. She stands on a lotus, a flower that is associated with wisdom.

"Whether we like it or not women have to play all these different roles of almost a superwoman to find fulfillment in life. But the end result is very rewarding, a sense of great achievement," is yet another tip from lucky Martha, who is adored by her husband, loved by her four children and trusted by millions of her clients around the world.

"But I could have done nothing without the support of my husband. When I came home tired he would even offer to massage my legs. Without raising an eyebrow he took the children to the pediatrician and picked up their report cards from school," Martha boasts proudly, appealing to all men to work together with women in the new millennium for a more healthy society.

She feels it is unfair for a woman to have to choose between motherhood and a career. She wants all women to have the opportunity to be able to pursue both roles.

Her husband Alex Tilaar, a mild mannered educator who retired from the government three years ago after being involved in women's affairs at Indonesia's National Planning Agency (Bappenas) says that emancipation has to come from both men and women. Many men are still very feudal in their attitude and are afraid of giving away their privileges. They see women as rivals, Tilaar told The Jakarta Post at a previous meeting. As a roving professor he is in his home island of Sulawesi these days, participating in a seminar on national unity.

But it is women who are in an advantageous position who should stretch out a helping hand to all those millions of other women in need, Martha says, adding that out of 6,000 employees in her company, 70 percent are women. When the economic crisis hit the country she invited women who had lost their job at various factories in Pulogadung, Jakarta's sprawling industrial estate, to come to her for a crash course in free beauty treatment.

Under the Independent Skillful Women program, over 600 women learned basic massage techniques and other aspects of beauty and health care. Today they go house-to-house practicing their skill and earning perhaps more than the salary they received as receptionists and telephone operators.

And yet another 500 young boys and girls are employed in the Biyantika chain of beauty salons, not just in Indonesia but also in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia, desperately trying to spread beauty and harmony around them just like their mentor Martha.