Mooryati, never too old to study
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Every time King Paku Buwono XII of Surakarta celebrates his ascension to the throne, this woman will always be present in the palace, seated in the very front row among the consorts.
In the center of feudalism like the Surakarta palace, the social status of a guest is immediately apparent by where she or he is seated.
Mooryati Soedibyo will always be among the kings's concubines in the palace's formal functions. So there is no question about her friendship with the king.
Mooryati, who has the royal title "Bendara Raden Ayu (BRA)" is an entrepreneur and the president director of PT Mustika Ratu, one of Indonesia's jamu (herbal medicine) makers.
She is one of the grandchildren of King Paku Buwono X and was once betrothed to Paku Buwono XII.
"When I was young, I was once proposed to by Sinuwun (Paku Buwono XII) but after some time I returned everything connected with this marriage proposal. If I had married the sultan and become his queen then, I would not be what I am now. Surely, I wouldn't be able to run a business or even go to lectures again," she said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.
Of late, at close to 75 years of age, she often commutes between Jakarta and Surakarta to attend lectures at Sebelas Maret University in the old city.
"For the past two years, I have taken lectures at the university for my master's degree. I've almost completed my thesis. I need only the signature of one of my supervisors. I've commuted between Jakarta and Surakarta for thesis guidance.
"I'm not ashamed about my age. I now have the time to study at the university, so why be shy? Learning knows no age limit, you see? If you are mentally active, you will remain healthy and feel encouraged to make progress," she says.
The 200-page thesis that she will have to defend late this year is titled "Fifty Effective Tricks to Maintain Your Customers". It is an analysis of a number of English books on tricks introduced by the world's most successful figure heads and businesspeople.
"I enjoyed working on this thesis very much. The content is closely related with my business. Effective tricks from the world's leaders may be applied here and some are exactly the same as the way we do business here. In fact, these tricks are no big deal. They are just small things that usually escape our attention."
Among her employees, the food supplement and natural cosmetics industrialist is known to have a great concern with details. She observes minute things that usually escape people's attention and acts like a sales promotion girl and often does not hesitate to act as a spearhead in the marketing field.
When recently PT Mustika Ratu introduced various traditional drink products to hotel owners in Surakarta, she took this job upon herself, explaining from memory various traditional drinks from Indonesia, including the mixture of rice and greater galingale, tamarind and palm sugar, or coffee mixed with ginger.
She began her career in 1973 as a vendor of Javanese traditional herbal medicines, such as the mixture of rice and greater galingale, in limited quantities at her home. She bottled this traditional herbal medicine and sold it to athletes in Jakarta.
She started her business as a home industry with two workers but it has now developed into a fully fledged business employing 3,600 people.
At first she produced only a few bottles of the traditional rice and greater galingale concoction but now her industry produces 1,000 products, comprising traditional herbal medicine and cosmetics. The products have been exported to Europe, Japan, Russia and other Asian countries.
Her obsession is to introduce Indonesia's traditional herbal medicines to the entire world. Why the Indonesian herbal medicines, not the Javanese concoctions?
Because, she says, traditional herbal medicines are not confined only to the Javanese. Besides, the materials are taken from every part of the country. It is wrong, therefore, to call these products Javanese traditional herbal medicines.
"Believe it or not, the biggest market share of traditional herbal medicines produced by PT Mustika Ratu is North Sumatra. It is popular among the Batak people, no longer just among Javanese. That's why I prefer to call it Indonesian herbal medicines, although the formula has been handed down to me by my Javanese ancestors," she says.
Indonesia, she says, is home to the world's biggest biological potential which can be used as the raw materials for traditional herbal medicines and other drugs.
"I'm sure, Indonesia's traditional herbal medicine products can be accepted worldwide because this medicine is prepared from natural substances. If local herbal medicine producers can work together to explore the foreign market with the full support of the government, I'm convinced we can compete with China."
She is dismayed that, despite the huge potential, the Health Ministry treats jamu only as an alternative medicine on the grounds that its healing properties have not been proven scientifically.
"We know that the formula, which has been handed down to us by our ancestors, has been tested throughout the centuries. It is now left to us to ensure that its packaging meets international standards. Sometimes I wonder what the government is really after?" she asks.
Despite her age, Mooryati remains active in popularizing jamu through her organization, the Indonesian Association of Indonesian Traditional Herbal Medicine Producers.
"I've taken lectures again, among other things, to ensure that I will be able to keep on doing my job, thinking and innovating for the development of jamu," Mooryati says.