Putri enjoys being her grandfather's 'heir'

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): Her childhood was tough enough. Her mother died shortly after she was born, 38 years ago. Putri Wong Kam Fu was then taken care of by her step-grandmother.

Putri was so poor when she was a teenager that she could not even afford to buy a bra. After being warned continuously by her teacher, she took her step-grandmother's unused brassiere and tailored it with a string she got from a postman.

"That was my first bra," she recalled.

As a teenager, she also had no joyful moments. While other girls her age in her neighborhood, in a small town near Malang, East Java, were playing engklek (hopscotch), Putri, who was then known as Pek Kiem Lieu -- her Chinese name -- alias Leony, had to collect wood and grass in the woods, as asked by her step- grandmother.

Her only joyful experience was when she saw her late grandfather Pek Wong Kam Fu, once the country's famous astrologist, practicing or serving patients.

"I liked to see him working, even though at that time, I didn't believe what he was talking about," she said.

Today, using the name Putri (daughter of) Wong Kam Fu, she has established herself as one of Indonesia's popular soothsayers and astrologists. The fees for her services, ranging from palm readings to ground-breaking ceremonies, run between Rp 100,000 (US$42) and Rp 15 million. She spends most of her time meeting clients from all over the country and gives religious lectures.

"I never dreamed I'd be what I am today," she admitted.

Putri, whose Moslem name is Leoni Fatima, also participates in many Islamic activities, such as giving religious lectures and managing an ethnic Chinese Moslem organization in the East Java capital of Surabaya.

During a business trip to Jakarta late last week, Putri -- accompanied by her eldest son -- was interviewed by The Jakarta Post at a two-star hotel in Central Jakarta.

Here are some excerpts from the one-hour interview: Question: What were you dreaming to be when you were a child? Answer: Like many other poor girls, I had no big hopes. But I often asked my grandfather whether or not I could afford to own a house and a car, as well as go traveling overseas one day. When he said "yes, you will get all those things," I felt really sad. I stood in front of him, yelling: "What are you talking about? You never say `no' to my questions, as if a poor girl like me could afford everything in the future."

Slowly, he hugged me and told me to calm down. He explained my bones were similar to those of German shepherd dogs. These dogs were quite expensive, but they had to work hard. For example, they had to guard their owners or their houses. What he meant was that I would have a bright future, but I would have to work hard. German shepherds differed from street dogs, which had to work hard only to survive, or poodles, which were very expensive and were merely fed and beautified.

Now I realize he was absolutely right. I have to work hard to be what I am now, to own a house and a car and to travel overseas.

(Her grandfather, who was also known as Pek Pang Eng, died at 88 on Dec. 31, 1984, in his home at the hilly tourist resort of Batu in Malang. According to Putri, he was born on the Chinese mainland and immigrated to Gresik, near Surabaya, when he was still a young man. Although his grandfather was also a soothsayer in their hometown, Pek Pang Eng only worked as a practitioner at the age of 36, after he graduated from an academy in Hong Kong in 1932. Following this, he became the country's most popular astrologist. He wrote in many newspapers until a few years before he died. Besides being an astrologist, Wong Kam Fu also owned at least several local news media, namely Tjermin, New Look, Bintang Soerabaia, Paris, Indah and Tjerdas Tangkas. His news business, which was established in 1950, was closed by the Indonesian Communist Party in the 1960s.

Actually, the words "Wong Kam Fu" illustrate the mixture of Javanese-Chinese-Arabic sciences used by Putri's grandfather for his profession. Wong means "human being" in Javanese, Kam means "gold" in Chinese and Fu means "money" in Arabic. For instance, said Putri, the correct direction of a building is noticed through Hong Sui (Chinese knowledge), the prayers are performed in the Islamic way and other traditional activities are in accordance with Javanese customs). Q: You said you were a poor girl. What was your childhood like? A: My childhood was unique, hard and poor. My father was my grandfather's son from his first wife and my mother was a step- daughter of my grandfather's second wife. Right after I was born, I was cared for by my grandfather's third wife, because my mother died shortly after giving birth. When I was at kindergarten, the third wife passed away. Then, I experienced a hard life under the care of grandfather's fourth wife. I had no time to play like other children. Every day, I had to go to the woods to collect grass for rabbits and wood for the kitchen. There were no other Chinese kids going to the forest to collect wood like me at that time. When I saw my lucky friends eating bakso (meatball soup) with krupuk (chips), I ran to the woods to pick a certain plant and to someone's field to take a handful of onions. Then, I put all of them into boiling water. Before I ate my own homemade "bakso", I always tried to imagine that I was going to eat the real thing. I always smile when those memories come to my mind.

(Putri has a mixed dialect of East Javanese and Chinese. Her face turned somber when she revealed her childhood, but she was so enthusiastic when explaining her road to success.

She was modest in dress and appearance. During the interview, she wore a green batik blouse without precious jewelry and wore only light make-up. Q: So, what's the main reason for your grandfather to bequeath his capability to you? How did he do it? A: I don't really understand. It might be due to my close relationship with him, because I lived with him since my mother died. Among his 20 grandchildren, I was the only one who took care of him until God took his life. Also, I was the one who always argued with him. I only changed my thinking after I came to realize his prediction was right. He never directly taught me how to read someone's fate. It was just learning by seeing and doing. Q: What were you before choosing this profession? A: Before I decided to embark on this profession in 1981, four years before my grandfather's death, I was a saleswoman for a peppermint company in Jakarta. I started my carrier as a house-to-house saleswoman and later advanced to a sales manager. When my grandfather died, I took over his position as an astrologist for several news media. It was my starting point. Q: How did you feel upon becoming a soothsayer and astrologist for the first time? A: I really enjoyed it, because I could help other people overcome their problems, even though I was only a high school dropout. Q: Do you have a plan to bequeath your skill to someone, such as your children? A: No. I always reject such an idea, although I have sometimes considered it. I tell my children that graduating from a university must be their priority. The future is only for those who hold university degrees.

(Married to G.D. Mustar, Putri has six children. A few years ago, Putri, who spent her childhood among the Moslem community, convinced her husband and children to be Moslems. Following his conversion to Islam, Mustar changed his name to Ahmad Muchtar.) Q: What's your opinion about this profession and its competition in this country? A: I don't have anything to say about that, because I already have many activities to do. So it is better for me not to comment on that question.